Formatting Blackline Masters
|Skill |Selection/Date |Selection/Date |Selection/Date |Selection/Date |
|Analyzing Word Choice | | | | |
|Drawing Conclusions/ Making | | | | |
|Inferences | | | | |
|Main Idea | | | | |
|Theme | | | | |
|Distinctive Elements of Literary| | | | |
|Types | | | | |
|Views or Comments on Life | | | | |
|Comprehending | | | | |
|Interpreting | | | | |
|Evaluating | | | | |
|Comparing/ Contrasting | | | | |
|Making Predictions | | | | |
|Making Generalizations | | | | |
|Critiquing Strengths and | | | | |
|Weaknesses | | | | |
|Synthesizing | | | | |
|Identifying Details to Solve | | | | |
|Problems | | | | |
|or to Answer Questions | | | | |
|Philosophical Arguments | | | | |
|Impact of Author’s Background | | | | |
|and Culture | | | | |
|Cause/Effect | | | | |
|Raising Questions | | | | |
|Reasoning Inductively and | | | | |
|Deductively | | | | |
|Generating a Theory or | | | | |
|Hypothesis | | | | |
|Skimming and Scanning | | | | |
|Distinguishing Fact from Opinion| | | | |
|and Probability | | | | |
|Responding Orally to Text | | | | |
|Responding in Writing to Text | | | | |
|Mechanics/Spelling/ (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |Usage (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |
|Mechanics: |USAGE—Usage—Common errors in usage (verbs with “of,” “gonna,” “used” as|
|IAC, LIP—Introductory Adverb Clause or Long Introductory |a verb, “among/between”). |
|Phrase—should be followed by a comma, |VF—Verb Form—Check for incorrect form of the verb. |
|--Unnecessary Comma—no rule; no need |VT/T—Verb Tense—(or PT—Past Tense)—Check for incorrect tense; all literary|
|P--Punctuation Error—Any error in punctuation. Check carefully |papers must be entirely in present tense. |
|for problems. |SVA—Subject/Verb Agreement—Verb does not agree with its subject. |
|SC—Semi-Colon—Check for an error in the misuse or omission of a |UA—Unclear Antecedent—Check for this, that, it, or some other pronoun used|
|semi-colon. |in isolation, meaning the antecedent is unclear or not stated. |
|CN—Colon—Check for an error in the misuse or omission of a colon.|PAA—Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement—The pronoun used does not agree with the |
|IS—Items in a Series—Must have a comma to separate. |word to which it is referring. |
|AE—Apostrophe—Check for an error in the misuse of an apostrophe, |CASE—Pronoun Case—Check for proper pronoun form. Check for “me and my . . |
|either with possessions or contractions. |.” |
|QT—Quotation Marks—Check for misuse or exemption of quotation |POSS—Possession—Check for a possessive noun or pronoun in an incorrect |
|marks with dialogue, quoted materials, or excerpts from a text. |form; you may need an apostrophe (school’s, schools’) or you have used |
|PE—Parenthetical Element—Check for something used in a sentence |possessive case when you mean plural. |
|but not necessary to the content of the sentence; these should be|DN—Double Negative—do not use any two “no” words together. (Watch for |
|set off by commas. Examples are: of course, in the first place, |“hardly” and “scarcely” also). |
|in fact, by the way. |SM—Subjunctive Mood—When using “if…,” use “were” instead of “was.” |
|APP – Appositive – Should be set off by commas. |MM or DM—Misplaced or Dangling Modifier—Check for an adj. or adv. placed |
|Spelling: |such that object is not clear; rearrange the sentence. |
|SP—Spelling—Check for a misspelled word and correct |A/Ad—Adjective/Adverb—A problem exists with the usage of an adjective or |
|C-- Capitalization—Check for a proper noun with no capitalization|adverb check for use of “ly.” |
|or something capitalized with no need for such. |?—Is something missing? |
| |PL—Plural—Check for some problem with pluralization. |
| |SI—Split Infinitive—Check for a word separating “to” and its verb. |
|Sentence Structure/Formation (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |Style/Audience Awareness (1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |
|RO—Run-On—Check for independent clauses joined with no |Selected Vocabulary |
|punctuation; they must be separated into two sentences or joined |WC—Word Choice—Check and replace with more |
|by a comma and a conjunction or a semi-colon. |appropriate word (See constructions-to-know list on back). WW—Wrong |
|SS—Sentence Structure—check for words or phrases within your |Word—Check for words that are often |
|sentence that make the meaning unclear or the grammar faulty; |confused. (See constructions-to-know list on back). |
|reword to make the correction. |NO—One of the No No’s—see list on back |
|[ ]—Fragment—Section in brackets is not a complete sentence.|Selected Information |
|C/S—Comma Splice—Two complete sentences joined by only a comma; |RED—Redundancy—repeated ideas—(even if words are not |
|see rule above. |repeated). |
|// ST—Parallel Structure—Check the forms of your items in a |Sentence Variety |
|series or your sentence structure; all forms should be the same |S,CDS,CX,CDSCX--Simple, Compound, Complex, Comp/Complex |
|(“to run, to hide, and to seek”) |Tone |
|CDS—Compound Sentence—Check for two or more independent clauses |F/IF—Formal/Informal Language |
|where a semi-colon or period and a capital letter is needed. |CCT—Clear, Consistent, Appropriate Tone (XCCT—if lacking) |
| |Voice |
| |IND—Individual Voice/Personality (XIND—if lacking) |
| |EFF—Writing has clear effect on reader (XEFF—has no effect) |
| |Audience Awareness |
| |2p—2nd Person--Never use in expository/analytical writing |
|Content/Composing (0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 points) |
|Central Idea |
|TH—clear thesis/sharp focus XTH—lacks a clear thesis/no clear focus |
| |
|OT—engaged with topic/on topic XOT--not engaged with topic/off topic. |
|PURP—clarity of purpose XPURP—no clear purpose/confusion |
|INT—introduction “grabs” the reader XINT—introduction doesn’t “get to the point” |
|CON—conclusion ends essay with significance/value/new idea XCON—conclusion summarizes, leaves topics, restates |
|Support/Elaboration |
|CD—includes significant concrete detail XCD—lacks concrete detail |
|COMM—includes commentary/opinion XCOMM—Lacks commentary |
|EX—ideas are developed with examples XEX—lacks examples from personal experience or text |
|SEL—selected/appropriate information for topic XSEL—listing/automatic writing without selection |
|Unity and Organization |
|TRAN—uses effective transitions XTRANS—problem with transitions |
|EMB—logical/smooth embedding of quotations XEMB—illogical/inappropriate embedding of quotations |
|TS—uses topic sentences that develop idea in thesis XTS—lacks clear topic sentence/doesn’t relate to thesis |
|CCS—conclusion sentences “wrap up” ideas in one |
|paragraph and lead to the next XCCS—lacks clear conclusion sentence. |
|BME—essay has a clear beginning, middle, and end XBME—essay lacks strength in beginning, middle, or end |
No No’s/Avoid Usage Of:
you (except in a quote) I think/I feel/I believe
there (as an expletive) needless to say
it (as an expletive) in summary
a lot (or any form thereof) gonna
this (as a pronoun, unless the due to the fact that
antecedent is clear or named)
kind of/sort of/type of one (unless as a number)
in conclusion obviously
in my opinion really, little, simply, somewhat
totally, very thing
get, getting go, going, gone, went
Learn the difference in these constructions:
like/as if lose/loss/loose
then/than along/alone
it’s/its threw/through/thorough
no/know from/than
to/too/two bring/take
their/there/they’re here/hear
whose/who’s principal/principle
by/buy wonder/wander
past/passed except/accept
conscience/conscious affect/effect
Example Generic Scoring Rubric:
| Mechanics/Spelling |Grammar/Usage |
|(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |
|IAC, LIP C (=) |USE VF |
|, SP |VT PT |
|P SC |S/V UA |
|CN AE |P/A PC |
|QT PE |POSS DN |
|APP |SM MM or DM |
| |A/Ad ? |
| |PL SI |
|SS/Formation |Style/Aud Awareness |
|(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |(1, 2, 3, 4, 5 points) |
|RO SS | WC YOU |
|[ ] CS |WW EFF |
|// ST CDS |NO IND |
| |RED (XEFF/ XIND) |
| |S, CDS, CX, CDSCX |
| |F/IF CCT |
|Content/Composing |
|(0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80 points) |
|Central Idea Unity/Organization |
|TH XTH TRAN XTRANS |
| |
|OT XOT EMB XEMB |
|PURP XPURP TS XTS |
|INT XINT CCS XCCS |
|CON XCON BME XBME |
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|Support/Elaboration Comments: |
|CD XCD |
|COMM XCOMM |
|EX XEX |
|SEL XSEL |
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|Four of my really great habits are: |
|1. |
|2. |
|3. |
|4. |
|Four of my worst habits are: |
|1. |
|2. |
|3. |
|4. |
|Bad Habit I Want To Change |Good Habit I Want To Replace It With |
|In School: |In School: |
|1. |1. |
|2. |2. |
|3. |3. |
|With My Family: |With My Family: |
|1. |1. |
|2. |2. |
|3. |3. |
|With My Friends: |With My Friends: |
|1. |1. |
|2. |2. |
|3. |3. |
|Other: |Other: |
|1. |1. |
|2. |2. |
|3. |3. |
Source:
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
| |
|Teacher Name: _________________________________________ |
| |
| |
|Student Name: ________________________________________ |
| |
| |
|CATEGORY |Exemplary |Good |Fair |Improvement Needed |
|Graphics Originality |Several of the graphics|One or two of the |The graphics are made by |No graphics made by |
| |used on the product |graphics used on the |the student, but are based |the student are |
| |reflect exceptional |product reflect |on the designs or ideas of |included. |
| |degree of student |student creativity in |others. | |
| |creativity in creation|creation and/or | | |
| |and/or display. |display. | | |
|Required Elements |The product includes |All required elements |All but 1 of the required |Several required |
| |all required elements |are included on the |elements are included on |elements are missing.|
| |as well as additional |product. |the product. | |
| |information. | | | |
|Use of Class Time |Used time well during |Used time well during |Used some of the time well |Did not use class time|
| |each class period. |each class period. |during each class period. |to focus on the |
| |Focused on getting the |Usually focused on |There was some focus on |product OR often |
| |product done. Never |getting the product |getting the product done |distracted others. |
| |distracted others. |done and never |but occasionally distracted| |
| | |distracted others. |others. | |
A B C D E F
1. You are at home on a Tuesday night doing your 5 5 5 5 5 5
trigonometry homework. It’s slow-going and
boring. You hear your friends drive up to the
curb and yell that they’re heading out to dinner.
What do you do?
a. If you decide to keep doing your homework,
even though it’s boring, put a checkmark in
box F.
b. If you decide to go with your friends and tell
yourself that you can always do your
homework later, put a checkmark in box A.
2. Your family is planning a five-day summer 5 5 5 5 5 5
vacation to Florida. You want to go, but taking
five days off work means that you won’t earn as
much to buy clothes for school. What do you do?
a. If you decide to stay home and continue
working, put a checkmark in box B.
b. If you decide to go with your family to
Florida, put a checkmark in box F.
3. You are at home getting ready to go out with 5 5 5 5 5 5
your friends – they’ll be there any minute. The
phone rings and it’s your boyfriend/girlfriend.
He’s/She’s wondering if you can come over right
now to hang out and watch a video. What do
you do?
a. If you decide to go to your boyfriend’s/
girlfriend’s house, put a checkmark in box C.
b. If you decide to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend
that you have plans with your friends, put a
checkmark in box F.
4. It’s 11:00 p.m. and you’re studying for your 5 5 5 5 5 5
English lit test. You’ve been studying all evening
and you’re pretty sure you’ll do well on the test
tomorrow. You’re tired and want to go to bed. But
you have an A- average in the class, and if you
study a little longer to ensure that you ace the
test, you can bring your average up to a solid A.
What do you do?
a. If you decide to go to bed to renew yourself,
put a checkmark in box F.
b. If you decide to stay up longer to ace the test,
put a checkmark in box D.
5. You’re attending college recruitment day at your 5 5 5 5 5 5
school and are sitting in one of the presentations.
You’re overwhelmed. You have no idea what you
want to be “when you grow up,” and you have no
idea which college to attend. The presentation
you’re in is for the college your mother wants you
to go to. You don’t know what you want to do, but
you’d rather just have the decision over with. At the
end of the presentation the presenter asks the class
to fill out applications. What do you do?
a. If you decide to wait and fill out an application
after you’ve thought about your options a little
more, put a checkmark in box F.
b. If you decide to fill out an application, put a
checkmark in box E.
Count up the number of checkmarks in each column and record the numbers here:
A:_____ B:_____ C:_____ D:_____ E:_____ F:_____
Answer Key:
Box F: If you have a 3 or higher in this column, you have a pretty healthy life center.
Box E: If you have a 1 in this column, read page 22 of the Teens book to examine if
your life to too parent-centered.
Box D: If you have a 1 in this column, read page 21 of the Teens book. School is
important, but don’t overdo it! You also might want to pay special attention
when we talk about renewal in Habit 7.
Box C: If you have a 1 in this column, read page 20 of the Teens book to examine if
your life is too boyfriend/girlfriend-centered.
Box B: If you have a 1 in this column, read page 19 of the Teens book. There is
nothing wrong with accomplishing and enjoying your material possessions, but never center your life on things that in the end have no lasting value. Great memories of vacations and family times will last forever.
Box A: If you have a 1 in this column, read page 19 of the Teens book to examine if
your life to too friend-centered.
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook, p. 14-15.
| |A (100-90) |B (89-80) |C (79-70) |D (69-60) |F (59-0) |
|Identification of |Well-defined, excellent |Defined adequately, some|Defined |Fuzzy definition |No definition |
|Principle |word choice and detail |control of vocabulary, | | | |
| | |detail | | | |
|Difficult Time |One time, explained with|One time, detailed |One time |More than one time or |Fails to address the |
| |detail and commentary | | |lack of clarity |prompt |
|Daily Use Ease |Thoughtful, creative |Earnest attempt at |Design for improvement |Partial design for |Area not addressed |
| |design for improvement |design for improvement |present |improvement |adequately |
|Importance |Well-developed sense of |Adequately addresses |Addresses significance |Hints at significance |Fails to present |
| |signficance |significance | | |significance |
|Grammar |1-2 errors |2-4 errors |5-6 errors |7-8 errors |Over 9 errors |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
|Grade and Comments | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| |STANDARDS/LEVELS OF EXCELLENCE |POINTS AWARDED |
|CRITERIA | | |
| | | | | |
| |3 Points |2 Points |1 Point | |
| |Excellent |Good |Needs Improvement | |
|Addresses |Know where they go and what|Know the address |No idea where or which ones| |
| |they are | | | |
|1st Paragraph |Thank you and reinforce |Able to give one or the |Not too sure of either | |
| |interest |other | | |
|2nd Paragraph |Personal qualifications |Able to give some idea |Not too sure | |
| |match requested job | | | |
|3rd Paragraph |Thank you and Contact |Able to give one or the |Not too sure of either | |
| |Information |other | | |
|Total | | | | |
1. The next time you look in the mirror say something positive about yourself.
2. Show appreciation for someone’s point of view today. Say something like, “Hey, that is a cool idea.
3. Think of a limiting paradigm you might have of yourself, such as, “I’m not outgoing.” Now, do something today that totally contradicts that paradigm.
4. Think of a loved one or close friend who has been acting out of character lately. Consider what might be causing that person to act that way.
5. When you have nothing to do, what is it that occupies your thoughts? Remember, whatever is most important to you will become your paradigm or life-center. What occupies your time and energy?
6. The Golden Rule rules! Begin today to treat others as you would want them to treat you. Don’t be impatient, complain about leftovers, or bad-mouth someone, unless you want the same treatment.
7. Sometime soon, find a quiet place where you can be alone. Think about what matters most to you.
8. Listen carefully to the lyrics of the music you listen to most frequently. Evaluate if they are in harmony with the principles you believe in.
9. When you do your chores at home or work tonight, try out the principle of hard work. Go the extra mile and do more than is expected.
10. The next time you’re in a tough situation and don’t know what to do, ask yourself, “What principle should I apply (i.e., honesty, love, loyalty, hard work, patience)?” Now, follow the principle and don’t look back.
Source:
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Keep Promises to Yourself
1. Get up when you planned to for 3 days in a row.
2. Identify one easy task that needs to be done today, like putting in a batch of laundry, or reading a book for an English assignment. Decide when you will do it. Now, keep your word and get it done.
Do Random Acts of Service
3. Sometime today, do a kind anonymous deed, like writing a thank you note, taking out the trash, or making someone’s bed.
4. Look around and find something you can do to make a difference, like cleaning up a park in your neighborhood, volunteering in a senior citizens center, or reading to someone who can’t.
Tap Into Your Talents
5. List a talent you would like to develop this year. Write down specific steps to get there. Talent I want to develop this year:
How do I get there:
6. Make a list of the talents you most admire in other people. List the person and the talent you admire.
Be Gentle with Yourself
7. Think about an area of life you feel inferior in. Now breathe deeply and tell yourself, “It’s not the end of the world.”
8. Try to do an entire day without negative self talk. Each time you catch yourself putting yourself down, you have to replace it with three positive thoughts about yourself.
Renew Yourself
9. Decide on a fun activity that will lift your spirits and do it today. For example, turn up the music and dance.
10. Feeling lethargic? Get up right now and go for a fast walk around the block.
Be Honest
11. The next time your parents ask you about what you’re doing, share the complete story. Don’t leave out information meant to mislead or deceive.
12. For one day, try not to exaggerate or embellish!
Source:
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster,1998.
| |Excellent |Good |Average |Fair |Poor |
|Title | | | | | |
|Source | | | | | |
|Date of Publication | | | | | |
|Summary | | | | | |
|Opinion | | | | | |
1. The next time someone “flips you off,” give them the peace sign back.
2. Listen carefully to your words today. Count how many times you use reactive language, such as “You make me. . .”, “I have to . . . “, “Why can’t they. . .”, “I can’t . . .”
Make a list of reactive language you use most.
3. Do something today that you have wanted to do but never dared. Leave your comfort zone and go for it. Ask someone out on a date, raise you hand in class, or join a team.
4. Write yourself a Post-It note: “I will not let ______________________ decide how I’m going to feel.” Place it in your locker, on your mirror, or in your planner and refer to it often.
5. At the next party, don’t just sit against the wall and wait form excitement to find you, you find it. Walk up and introduce yourself to someone new.
6. The next time you receive a grade that you think is unfair, don’t blow it off or cry about it, make an appointment with the teacher to discuss it and then see what you can learn.
7. If you get in a fight with a parent or a friend, be the first to apologize.
8. Identify something in your circle of no control that you are always worrying about. Decide now to drop it. Write down what it is that you can’t control and still worry about.
9. Push the pause button before you react to someone who bumps into you in the hall, calls you a name, or cuts in line.
10. Use your tool of self-awareness right now by asking yourself, “What is my most unhealthy habit?” Make up your mind to do something about it. Write down your most unhealthy habit and what you’re going to do about it.
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
1. Think of a person who made a positive difference in your life. What qualities does that person have that you would like to develop?
______________________________________________________________________________
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2. Imagine 20 years from now – you are surrounded by the most important people in your life. Who are they and what are you doing?
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3. If a steel beam (6 inches wide) were placed across two skyscrapers, for what would you be willing to cross? A thousand dollars? A million? Your pet? Your brother? Fame? Think carefully –
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4. If you could spend one day in a great library studying anything you wanted, what would you study?
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5. List 10 things you love to do. It could be singing, dancing, looking at magazines, drawing, reading, daydreaming, anything you absolutely love to do!
(1)___________________________________________________________________________
(2)___________________________________________________________________________
(3)___________________________________________________________________________
(4)___________________________________________________________________________
(5)___________________________________________________________________________
(6)___________________________________________________________________________
(7)___________________________________________________________________________
(8)___________________________________________________________________________
(9)___________________________________________________________________________
(10)__________________________________________________________________________
6. Describe a time you were deeply inspired.
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7. Five years from now, your local paper does a story about you, and they want to interview three people – a parent, a brother or sister, and a friend. What would you want them to say about you?
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8. Think of something that represents you – a rose, a song, an animal. Why does it represent you?
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9. If you could spend an hour with any person who every lived, who would that be? Why that person? What would you ask?
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Good with numbers Working well with people Dancing
Good with words Memorizing things Listening
Creative thinking Decision making Singing
Athletics Building things Humorous
Making things happen Accepting others Sharing
Sensing needs Predicting what will happen Music
Mechanical Speaking Trivia
Artistic Writing
10. Everyone has one or more talents. Which of the ones above are you good at? Or write down ones not listed.
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Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
Mission Introduction
A Mission
An inner urge to pursue an activity or performance of a service
A Calling
What one intends to do or achieve
What is Your Mission?
Your Ambition?
Your Dream?
Your Intent?
Your Goal?’
Your Objective?
Your Target?
Do you even have a mission?
We think you do.
It’s up to you to find what guides you
What inspires you
What gets you out of bed in the morning
But does your mission have to be huge to be worthy?
No.
Just big enough to change
Your world
Your life
We believe in you.
Are you ready to make your mission real?
We’ll show you how.
Mission Kickstart
Identify your values and purposes with this quick exercise that will lead you through a series of questions. Simply type the first response that comes to mind. And use your responses to begin crafting your mission.
Your actions are your only possessions.
Your values are what you esteem, what you give worth to.
Values determine where you spend your time, energy, and money.
Your values, whether you realize it or not, influence your daily choices and what’s most important to you.
They are also deeply embedded in your mission statement.
In developing your mission, let’s begin by defining your values.
In the next four minutes you will be given a series of questions that require one to two word answers.
You will have 10 seconds to read each question and 10 seconds to answer.
Why is there a time limit? We want your initial, automatic response.
Your values shouldn’t be far from the tip of your tongue.
In the end, your spontaneous answers will give you insight into what you truly value and provide a list of potential values to apply to your mission statement.
Note – you won’t be able to review previous questions until you have finished.
• You have started your own country. On your dollar bill it says, In ____________ we trust.
• Name one of your traits you would like to pass on to your children.
• List 2 of the most important people in your life.
• What are two qualities you look for in a life partner?
• Describe yourself in one word.
• If there were just 2 rules everyone should follow, what would they be?
• Think of the person you admire. In one word, why?
These are some of your values.
(The teacher will examine the statements, taking the chief value in one word from each of the previous answers students have given. The teacher will give students a list of their words (or values).
You can probably think of several more, but this is a great start for your mission.
The next step is to take each value and give it life.
Now create an action statement from each value describing how you will use it to lead your life forward.
Example:
Friendship – I will be a supportive friend and seek out friendships that are healthy and encouraging.
Now it’s your turn.
I will – finish action statement here. (Students will finish all ten statements.)
What you have in front of you is a beginner mission statement, built on the foundation of your values. You have written each value into an active statement of what you’d like to achieve.
From here you can continue to write and revise your mission statement, then save it when you’re ready. Please try some of the other Mission Statement builder exercises, like the Museum.
Museum
You have a Purpose in life, and you know in your heart what’s important to you. In fact, your mission and values are expressed in the way you live your life every day.
Expressing your mission and values on paper is not always easy.
How do you find just the right words?
The Mission Museum provides examples of mission statements from people you’ve heard of and people you haven’t, along with inspirational quotes and recommended reading, to give you ideas as you craft yours.
Some will strike a chord. Others won’t. But you will notice that mission statements come in all shapes and sizes. They are crafted for a unique purpose and person – much like you.
Benjamin Franklin’s Governing Values
Sometimes a mission statement can consist of a concise list of values, defined in your own words. Read through Ben Franklin’s list of values and definitions to see if they spark any ideas for your mission statement.
1. Temperance – Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. Silence – Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. Order – Let all your things have their right places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. Resolution – Resolve to perform what you ought; perform with fail what you resolve.
5. Frugality – Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; that is, waste nothing.
6. Industry – Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. Sincerity – Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. Justice – Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. Moderation – Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. Cleanliness – Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. Tranquility – Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. Chastity - Rarely use venery by for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.
Gandhi’s Mission
Mahatma Gandhi’s mission is captured in a short list of active statements. You can craft your mission in this style, starting each sentence with “I shall” or “I will.”
Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:
I shall not fear anyone on earth.
I shall fear only God.
I shall not bear ill toward anyone.
I shall conquer untruth by truth.
And in resisting untruth I shall put up with suffering.
Erma Bombeck’s Reflections
“If I had my life to live over,” written by Erma Bombeck near the end of her life, details the values Bombeck wished had guided her daily decisions. If you were nearing the end of your life, and you were writing this piece, what would you include? Use those ideas to craft your mission statement.
If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth. I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life. I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband. I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I wasn’t there for the day. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime. Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle. When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, “Later. Now go get washed up for dinner.” There would have been more ”I love yous” … More “I’m sorrys” … But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute … look at it and really see it … and never give it back.
Dr. Martin Lurther King Jr.’s Dream
A vision, a purpose, a dream. Read or listen to this speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. If you were giving a speech to thousands of people that started with the words, “I have a dream…”, what would be the contents of your speech? See if Dr. King’s dream gives you any ideas for your mission.
I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia …
Recommended Reading:
Good Books are great motivators as you work to draft and refine your mission statement. Here are a few that will help you on your way.
First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy
- Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill
How to Find Your Mission in Life
- Richard N. Bolles
The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life
- Laurie Beth Jones
The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams
- Deepak Chopra
What Matters Most: The Power of Living Your Values
- Hyrum W. Smith
Man’s Search For Meaning
- Victor E. Frankl
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
- Benjamin Franklin and Leonard W. Lebaree
Becoming a Person of Influence
- John C. Maxwell and Jim Dornan
Mission Quotes:
Brief, inspirational quotes can often be the best way to spark ideas for your own mission. We’ve collected a few that might help inspire your mission.
“The indispensable first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: decide what you want.” ~ Ben Stein
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail.” ~ Dr. Robert Schuller
“When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world.” ~ Jim Henson
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” ~ Mary Oliver
“If the things we believe in are different than the things we do, there can be no true happiness.” ~ Dana Telford
“You’ve got to think about ‘big things’ while you’re doing small things so that all the small things go in the right direction.” ~ Alvin Toffler
“We must resolve to govern ourselves; we must seek diversity of interests . . . and try to balance work for the body and work for the mind.” ~ Ellen Henrietta Swallow Richards
Categorized Missions
Try choosing the three to five aspects of your life that are most important to you, and write a mini mission statement for each. Use these two anonymous examples for ideas.
Throughout each day in my life I strive to be loyal to my friends and family, lead a successful career that I will enjoy, stay healthy, and take on any challenges that come my way. I value my family members, friends, spiritual fulfillment, sense of accomplishment, and respect for others.
My Family Members
Throughout my life I will always be supportive and loyal to all my family members, allowing a relationship that will last a lifetime.
Friends
I will always be supportive to fellow friends and assist with any endeavors they may have.
Spiritual Fulfillment
My spiritual beliefs remain extremely important in my life, creating the backbone of my inner self.
Sense of Accomplishment
I live life to the fullest and strongly believe that nothing is impossible.
Respect for Others
Without respect for life and human beings the world would be a meaningless place.
For myself, I want to develop self-knowledge, self-love, and self-allowing. I want to use my healing talents to keep hope alive and express my vision courageously in word and action. In my family, I want to build healthy, loving relationships in which we let each other become our best selves. At work, I want to establish a fault-free self-perpetuating, learning environment. In the world, I want to nurture the development of all life forms in harmony with the laws of nature.
Single Sentence Missions
A mission can be simple and all-inclusive, like these anonymous examples:
“I will pursue moments of joy and passion, living each day fully and freely, always seeking exciting new experiences and conquering my fears.”
“At the end of my life, I want to be able to say I gave everything I had to give.”
“To live each day in gratitude, for true gratitude will guard against selfishness, envy, self-pity, and pride.”
“I will explore my every gift and talent, never wasting my potential to bring goodness, beauty, laughter, and light to my life and the world around me.
“To make a difference.”
We’ve given you several examples of mission statements: some long, others short, some penned by famous authors, others written by people just like you. Your mission may look like some of our examples, but it can look however you want it to look. It’s all up to you.
Use the ideas you gained in the Mission Museum to begin free-writing your mission statement above. Make sure you refer to it often and make it a part of your daily life.
We need to give ourselves permission to act out our dreams and visions, live our strongest dreams, --even if it takes a lifetime.
- Vijali Hamilton
Your mission statement is your written permission to do what is most important to you, most exciting to you, most representative of YOU.
Your Mission
Over the years your mission has changed…even if you never wrote it down. But there are core pieces – core values – that have remained the same. Those core pieces are the essential you, and they lead your life whether you acknowledge them or not.
You will go on a journey. As you proceed through the questions, remember the overall purpose of the exercise – to discover the essential, core parts of you and your mission.
This is your journey. You have the freedom to take all the time you need with each question. At the end, you will have created the beginning of your personal mission statement.
Please clear your mind, get comfortable, and begin.
• Answer the following question straight from your heart. What are three things would do if you knew you could not fail?
• Your Mission
• Take a moment to think about the last time you were really excited about life. Briefly describe what you were doing, who was there, and how you felt.
• Imagine your life as an epic journey, with you as the hero or heroine of the story. What do you imagine your journey to be about? Describe what you are doing, who it is for, why you are doing it, and what it results in.
• Think of the person who knows you best. If you asked this person to name your three greatest strengths, what would they be?
• Reflect on each of the strengths you specified in the previous question. Describe how you can utilize each trait to make a positive contribution in your family, at work, and with your friends.
• Think of the major events, accomplishments, challenges, and successes you have experienced in your lifetime. If you had the power to turn back time, what would you change?
• As you reflect over the events of your life, what are you most proud of?
• If you were given one million dollars and had to give it to a charity, which charity could it be, and how would you wish the funds to be used?
• We’ve divided your life into 4 areas of development: socio/emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. Name one thing you can do in each of the four areas that will have the greatest positive impact on your life and help you achieve a sense of balance.
• You’ve spent some valuable time distilling what is most important to you and discovering what is really guiding your life. Now read through your responses and see if your mission statement comes alive.
Creating, defining, and refining your mission statement is an ongoing project.Your circumstances will change; you will grow. Reevaluate yourself from time to time, and revise your mission statement.
Source: Covey, Franklin. Mission Statement Builder. Website:
1. Determine the three most important skills you’ll need to succeed in your career. Do you need to be more organized, be more confident speaking in front of people, have stronger writing skills? Write down the three most important skills you need for your career.
2. Review your mission statement daily for 30 days (that’s how long it takes to develop a habit). Let it guide you in all your decisions.
3. Look in the mirror and ask, “Would I want to marry someone like me?” If not, work to develop the qualities you’re lacking.
4. Go to your school guidance or employment counselor and talk about career opportunities. Take an aptitude test that will help you evaluate your talents, abilities, and interests.
5. What is the key crossroad you are facing in your life right now? In the long run, what is the best path to take? Write down the key crossroad and the best path to take.
6. Make a copy of The Great Discovery. Then take a friend or family member through it step by step.
7. Think about your goals. Have you put them in pen and written them down? If not, take time to do it. Remember, a goal not written is only a wish.
8. Identify a negative label others may have given you. Think up a few things you can do to change that label. Write down the negative label and how to change it.
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
How Well Do
You Plan?
DIRECTIONS: FOR EACH QUESTION, CIRCLE THE NUMBER THAT BEST DESCRIBES YOU.
| |Never |Seldom |Sometimes |Often |Always |
|How often do you plan| | | | | |
|in an effort to keep | | | | | |
|life from running out| | | | | |
|of control? |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |
|Do you put | | | | | |
|daily plans on paper?|1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |
|Do you allow | | | | | |
|flexibility | | | | | |
|in your |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |
|plans? | | | | | |
|How often do you | | | | | |
|ac-complish all you | | | | | |
|plan for |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |
|a given day? | | | | | |
|How often do you plan| | | | | |
|time for what matters| | | | | |
|most |1 |2 |3 |4 |5 |
|to you? | | | | | |
|How often is your | | | | | |
|daily plan de-stroyed| | | | | |
|by urgent in- |5 |4 |3 |2 |1 |
|terruptions? | | | | | |
SEE NEXT PAGE FOR SCORING AND INTERPRETATION
(Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001
SCORING: Add the numbers next to your answers.
INTERPRETATION:
6-10: Terrible Planner.
You should consider using new tools and processes to help you plan effectively. A great first step would be to take a time management course.
11-15: Below average planner.
You may already have a planning system, but using it more effectively will help to reduce the stress and lack of control you feel in your life.
16-20: Average planner.
Your planning system is working, but you can do better. You may need help focusing on priorities, dealing with urgent interruptions or writing your daily plan.
21-25: Above-average planner.
Your planning system is working well. Keep up the good work, with periodic reviews to be sure you’re planning around what matters most in your life.
26-30: Excellent planner--or candidate for burnout?
You have mastered planning and should experience the serenity that comes from taking charge of your life. But make sure you’re in control of your planning rather than letting it control you.
Quiz written for USA WEEKEND by time management expert Hyrum Smith, chairman of the Franklin Covey Co., whose Franklin Planners, agendas and planning software are used by 15 million Americans.
Five Steps to Successful Time Management
1. Set specific academic and personal goals.
2. Create a term calendar, recording major events.
3. Create a weekly schedule of your classes, labs, drill, meetings, etc.
4. Decide on specific times to work on each course.
5. Make a to-do list for each day the night before or during breakfast.
(Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001
The Time Quadrants BLM
| | URGENT | NOT URGENT |
| | | |
|IMPORTAN|1 T H E PROCRASTINATOR |2 T H E |
|T | |PRIORITIZER |
| |EXAM TOMORROW | |
| |FRIEND GETS INJURED |PLANNING, GOAL SETTING |
| |LATE FOR WORK |ESSAY DUE IN A WEEK |
| |PROJECT DUE TODAY |EXERCISE |
| |CAR BREAKS DOWN |RELATIONSHIPS |
| | |RELAXATION |
| | | |
| | | |
|NOT |3 T H E |4 T H E |
|IMPORTAN|YES MAN |SLACKER |
|T | | |
| |UNIMPORTANT PHONE CALLS |TOO MUCH TV |
| |INTERRUPTIONS |ENDLESS PHONE CALLS |
| |OTHER PEOPLE’S SMALL PROBLEMS |EXCESSIVE COMPUTER GAMES |
| |PEER PRESSURE |MALL MARATHONS |
| | |TIME WASTERS |
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998
The Time Quadrants BLM
| | URGENT | NOT URGENT |
| | | |
|IMPORTAN| | |
|T | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
|NOT | | |
|IMPORTAN| | |
|T | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
| | | |
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998
| |Monday|Tuesday |Wednes|Thursday |Friday|Saturday |Sunday|
| | | |day | | | | |
|Adaptable | |Inquisitive | |Organized | |Critical | |
|Relating | |Creating | |Getting to Point | |Debating | |
|Personal | |Adventurous | |Practical | |Academic | |
|Flexible | |Inventive | |Precise | |Systematic | |
|Sharing | |Independent | |Orderly | |Sensible | |
|Cooperative | |Competitive | |Perfectionist | |Logical | |
|Sensitive | |Risk-Taking | |Hard-Working | |Intellectual | |
|People-Person | |Problem Solver | |Planner | |Reader | |
|Associate | |Originate | |Memorize | |Think Through | |
|Spontaneous | |Changer | |Wants Direction | |Judger | |
|Communicating | |Discovering | |Cautious | |Reasoning | |
|Caring | |Challenging | |Practicing | |Examining | |
|Feeling | |Experimenting | |Doing | |Thinking | |
Now, add up your totals for each column and place the total in the blanks below.
Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
Grapes_____ Oranges_____ Bananas_____ Melons_____
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
1. When you meet a classmate or neighbor with a disability or impairment, don’t feel sorry for the person or avoid the person because you don’t know what to say. Instead, go out of your way to get acquainted.
2. The next time you are having a disagreement with a parent, try out the Getting to Synergy Action Plan: 1. Define the problem. 2. Listen to them. 3. Share your views. 4. Brainstorm. 5. Find the best solution.
3. Share a personal problem with an adult you trust. See if the exchanging of viewpoints leads to new insights and ideas about your problem.
4. This week, look around and notice how much synergy is going on all around you, such as two hands working together, teamwork, symbiotic relationships in nature, and creative problem solving.
5. Think about someone who irritates you. What is different about them? What can you learn from them?
6. Brainstorm with your friends and come up with something fun, new, and different to do this weekend, instead of doing the same old thing again and again.
7. Rate your openness to diversity in each of the following categories. Are you a shunner, tolerator, or celebrator?
| |SHUNNER |TOLERATOR |CELEBRATOR |
|Race | | | |
|Gender | | | |
|Religion | | | |
|Age | | | |
|Dress | | | |
What can you do to become a celebrator in each category?
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
N=Never S=Sometimes A=Always
|B O D Y |
|I eat a nutritious diet and try to stay away from junk food. | | | |
|I exercise regularly. | | | |
|I get enough sleep. | | | |
|I take care of personal hygiene. | | | |
|I take time to relax. | | | |
|B R A I N |
|I regularly read good books, magazines, or newspapers, or I listen to the news. | | | |
|I play or listen to good music. | | | |
|I write or draw. | | | |
|I attend cultural events, watch uplifting movies, or view educational television programs. | | | |
|I learn new skills and develop my talents. | | | |
|H E A R T |
|I laugh out loud at least once a day. | | | |
|I make deposits into my Relationship Bank Accounts. | | | |
|I make deposits into my Personal Bank Account. | | | |
|I use my talents. | | | |
|I develop new relationships. | | | |
|S O U L |
|I pray or meditate regularly. | | | |
|I keep a journal. | | | |
|I read poetry or other inspiring literature. | | | |
|I ponder my decisions and situations in life. | | | |
|I enjoy nature by going on walks, looking at landscapes, or taking time to enjoy a sunset. | | | |
| |
How I renew myself:
|D I M E N S I O N H O W I R E N E W M Y S E L F |
|Body | | | |
|Brain | | | |
|Heart | | | |
|Soul | | | |
New ways to renew myself:
|D I M E N S I O N H O W I RENEW MYSELF |
|Body | | | |
|Brain | | | |
|Heart | | | |
|Soul | | | |
Test Your Alcohol Smarts
Let’s see how much you know about alcohol and its dangers. Answer the following true or false. Check your answers after you have completed the test.
1. __________ Most teens are drinking alcohol.
2. __________ Beer and wine are “safer” than liquor.
3. __________ As long as you’re not drinking, being around others who are won’t hurt
anything.
4. __________ You can’t overdose on alcohol.
5. __________ Alcohol damages your body.
6. __________ Alcohol damages your brain.
7. __________ Drinking alcohol makes you more attractive.
8. __________ You can’t say no to alcohol and still fit in.
9. __________ Drinking alcohol is something you do on the weekend; it doesn’t affect school
performance.
10.__________ It is illegal to buy or possess alcohol if you are under twenty-one years old.
11.__________ All teenagers will drink at some point, no matter what.
12.__________ The following are slang names for alcohol: booze, sauce, brews, brewskis,
hooch, hard stuff, juice.
13.__________ It doesn’t matter if you mix alcohol with other drugs – like medicine.
Answer Key:
1. False. The vast majority of teens do not drink.
2. False. One can of beer has about as much alcohol as a glass of wine, a wine cooler, or a shot
of liquor.
3. False. If you’re around people who are drinking, you have an increased risk of being
seriously injured, involved in a car crash, or affected by violence.
4. False. Drinking large amounts of alcohol can lead to coma or even death.
5. True. Alcohol can damage every organ in your body. It goes directly into your bloodstream
and can increase your risk for a variety of serious diseases.
6. True. Drinking alcohol slows your brain and your central nervous system, and leads to a
loss of coordination, poor judgment, slowed reflexes, distorted vision, memory lapses, and even blackouts.
7. False. Alcohol can make you gain weight and give you bad breath.
8. False. Remember, you’re in good company. The majority of teens don’t drink alcohol.
Also, it’s not as hard to refuse as you might think. Try “no thanks,” “I don’t think so,” or
“I’m not interested.”
9. False. High school students who use alcohol or other addictive substances are five times
more likely than other students to drop out of school or to believe that earning good grades is
not important.
10. True.
11. False. Although underage drinking is a serious problem, 84 percent of people aged twelve to
seventeen have chosen not to drink in the past month.
12. True.
13. False. Mixing alcohol with medicine or other drugs is extremely dangerous and can lead to
accidental death.
Information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Assess Your Brain Power:
N=Never S=Sometimes A=Always
|I read newspapers daily. | | | |
|I keep a journal or some sort of log, or have a regular writing time. | | | |
|I travel to see different cultures or areas of historical interest. | | | |
|I enjoy watching the Discovery Channel, the Learning Channel, or PBS. | | | |
|I listen to or watch the news on radio, TV, or the Internet daily. | | | |
|I set aside some time for silence to clear my mind, relax, and think about things. | | | |
|I have researched my family roots. | | | |
|I have written a poem, song, or story. | | | |
|I play challenging card or board games. | | | |
|I have been on the debate team. | | | |
|I visit museums. | | | |
|I go to cultural events such as plays, ballets, operas, or the symphony. | | | |
|I can play a musical instrument. | | | |
|I like to do crossword puzzles. | | | |
|I have deep and stimulating conversations with friends. | | | |
|I use the Internet to research topics for school. | | | |
|I know how to use a computer. | | | |
|I can follow a recipe and cook a good meal. | | | |
|I know at least a little about car maintenance and repair. | | | |
|I have a library card. | | | |
|I do a good job on my homework. | | | |
|I have made plans to continue my education. | | | |
|I have taken a foreign language in school. | | | |
|I read books just for fun. | | | |
Give yourself three points for each check in the “Always” column, two points for “Sometimes,” and one point for “Never.”
55 points and over – You are a braniac!
41-55 points – Your brain is getting a fair amount of work.
Under 40 points – You need to pay more attention to your mental development.
Source:
Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Sexual Readiness: Take a look at this list and check off the items that describe you.
You’re not ready to have sex if:
5 You think sex equals love.
5 You feel pressured.
5 You’re afraid to say no.
5 It’s just easier to give in.
5 You think everyone else is doing it. (They’re not.)
5 Your instincts tell you not to.
5 You don’t know the facts about pregnancy.
5 You don’t understand how birth control works.
5 It goes against your moral beliefs.
5 You don’t think a woman can get pregnant the first time. (She can.)
5 It goes against your religious beliefs.
5 You’ll regret it in the morning.
5 You feel embarrassed or ashamed.
5 You’re doing it to prove something.
5 You can’t support a child.
5 You can’t support yourself.
5 Your idea of commitment is a three-day video rental.
5 You believe sex before marriage is wrong.
5 You don’t know how to protect yourself from HIV – the virus that causes AIDS.
5 You don’t know the signs and symptoms of sexually transmitted infections (STIs, also called STDs).
5 You think it will make your partner love you.
5 You think it will make you love your partner.
5 You think it will keep you together.
5 You hope it will change your life.
5 You don’t want it to change your life.
5 You’re not ready for the relationship to change.
5 You’re drunk.
5 You wish you were drunk.
5 You expect it to be perfect.
5 You’ll just die if it’s not perfect.
5 You can’t laugh together about awkward elbows and clumsy clothes.
5 You’re not ready to take off your clothes.
5 You think HIV and AIDS only happen to other people.
5 You think you can tell who has HIV by looking at them.
5 You don’t think teens get HIV. (They do.)
5 You don’t know that abstinence is the only 100 percent protection against sexually
transmitted infections and pregnancy.
5 You haven’t talked about tomorrow.
5 You can’t face the thought of tomorrow.
5 You’d be horrified if your parents found out.
5 You’re too scared to think clearly.
5 You think it will make you more popular.
5 You think you “owe it” to your partner.
5 You think it’s not OK to be a virgin.
5 You’re thinking only about yourself.
5 You’re not thinking about yourself.
5 You can’t wait to tell everyone about it.
5 You hope no one will hear about it.
5 You really wish the whole thing had never come up.
5 It’s OK to wait.
Excerpted from You’re Not Ready To Have Sex If . . . Copyright 1996 Journeyworks Publishing, Santa Cruz, Calif. Reprinted with permission in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook.
Rate Your Ability to Care for Your Soul:
Check off the items that describe you:
5 I have defined what my values are, and I plan to live my life accordingly.
5 I have created my mission statement. I rely on it to give vision to my purpose in life.
5 I renew each day through meditation, prayer, study, or reflection.
5 I frequently spend time in a place where I can spiritually renew, such as in nature, a
synagogue, a chapel, or a temple.
5 I live with integrity and honor.
5 I keep my heart open to the truth.
5 I make a stand or tell the truth, even when opposed by others.
5 I frequently serve others with no expectations of a returned favor.
5 I can identify which things in life I can change and which things I cannot. I let go of the
things I cannot change.
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens Personal Workbook. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2004.
Body
1. Eat breakfast.
2. Start an exercise program today and do it faithfully for 30 days. Walk, run, swim, bike, rollerblade, lift weights, etc. Choose something you really enjoy.
3. Give up a bad habit for a week. Go without alcohol, soda pop, fried foods, donuts, chocolate, or whatever else may be hurting your body. A week later, see how you feel.
Mind
4. Subscribe to a magazine that has some educational value, such as Popular Mechanics or National Geographic.
5. Read a newspaper every day. Pay special attention to the headline stories and the opinions page.
6. The next time you go on a date, visit a museum or eat at an ethnic restaurant you’ve never been to before. Expand your horizons.
Heart
7. Go on a one-on-one outing with a family member like your mom or your brother. Catch a ball game, see a movie, go shopping, or get an ice cream.
8. Begin today to build your humor collection. Cut out your favorite cartoons, buy hilarious movies, or start your own collection of great jokes. In no time, you’ll have something to go to when you’re feeling stressed.
Soul
9. Watch the sunset tonight or get up early to watch the sunrise.
10. If you haven’t already done it, start keeping a journal today.
11. Take time each day to meditate, reflect upon your life, or pray.
12. Do what works for you.
Source: Covey, Sean. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1998.
A Noiseless Patient Spider
by Walt Whitman
A noiseless patient spider,
I mark'd where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark'd how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch'd forth filament, filament, filament, out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form'd, till the ductile anchor hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my soul.
| |5 (A) |4 (B) |3 (C) |2 (D) |1 (F) |Total |
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Self-Reliance
from Essays: First Series (1841)
"Ne te quaesiveris extra."
"Man is his own star; and the soul that can
Render an honest and a perfect man,
Commands all light, all influence, all fate;
Nothing to him falls early or too late.
Our acts our angels are, or good or ill,
Our fatal shadows that walk by us still."
Epilogue to Beaumont and Fletcher's Honest Man's Fortune
Cast the bantling on the rocks,
Suckle him with the she-wolf's teat;
Wintered with the hawk and fox,
Power and speed be hands and feet.
ESSAY II Self-Reliance
I read the other day some verses written by an eminent painter which were original and not conventional. The soul always hears an admonition1 in such lines, let the subject be what it may. The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain. To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, — that is genius. Speak your latent2 conviction, and it shall be the universal sense; for the inmost in due time becomes the outmost,—— and our first thought is rendered back to us by the trumpets of the Last Judgment. Familiar as the voice of the mind is to each, the highest merit we ascribe to Moses, Plato, and Milton is, that they set at naught books and traditions, and spoke not what men said but what they thought. A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament3 of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts: they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humored inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other side. Else, to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we have thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another.
There is a time in every man's education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried. Not for nothing one face, one character, one fact, makes much impression on him, and another none. This sculpture in the memory is not without pre-established harmony. The eye was placed where one ray should fall, that it might testify of that particular ray. We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents. It may be safely trusted as proportionate and of good issues, so it be faithfully imparted, but God will not have his work made manifest4 by cowards. A man is relieved and gay when he has put his heart into his work and done his best; but what he has said or done otherwise, shall give him no peace. It is a deliverance which does not deliver. In the attempt his genius deserts him; no muse befriends; no invention, no hope.
Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events. Great men have always done so, and confided themselves childlike to the genius of their age, betraying their perception that the absolutely trustworthy was seated at their heart, working through their hands, predominating in all their being. And we are now men, and must accept in the highest mind the same transcendent5 destiny; and not minors and invalids in a protected corner, not cowards fleeing before a revolution, but guides, redeemers, and benefactors, obeying the Almighty effort, and advancing on Chaos and the Dark.
What pretty oracles nature yields us on this text, in the face and behaviour of children, babes, and even brutes! That divided and rebel mind, that distrust of a sentiment because our arithmetic has computed the strength and means opposed to our purpose, these have not. Their mind being whole, their eye is as yet unconquered, and when we look in their faces, we are disconcerted. Infancy conforms to nobody: all conform to it, so that one babe commonly makes four or five out of the adults who prattle and play to it. So God has armed youth and puberty and manhood no less with its own piquancy6 and charm, and made it enviable and gracious and its claims not to be put by, if it will stand by itself. Do not think the youth has no force, because he cannot speak to you and me. Hark! in the next room his voice is sufficiently clear and emphatic. It seems he knows how to speak to his contemporaries. Bashful or bold, then, he will know how to make us seniors very unnecessary.
The nonchalance of boys who are sure of a dinner, and would disdain as much as a lord to do or say aught to conciliate7 one, is the healthy attitude of human nature. A boy is in the parlour what the pit is in the playhouse; independent, irresponsible, looking out from his corner on such people and facts as pass by, he tries and sentences them on their merits, in the swift, summary way of boys, as good, bad, interesting, silly, eloquent, troublesome. He cumbers8 himself never about consequences, about interests: he gives an independent, genuine verdict. You must court him: he does not court you. But the man is, as it were, clapped into jail by his consciousness. As soon as he has once acted or spoken with eclat,9 he is a committed person, watched by the sympathy or the hatred of hundreds, whose affections must now enter into his account. There is no Lethe for this. Ah, that he could pass again into his neutrality! Who can thus avoid all pledges, and having observed, observe again from the same unaffected, unbiased, unbribable, unaffrighted innocence, must always be formidable. He would utter opinions on all passing affairs, which being seen to be not private, but necessary, would sink like darts into the ear of men, and put them in fear.
These are the voices which we hear in solitude, but they grow faint and inaudible as we enter into the world. Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members. Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs.
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness. Nothing is at last sacred but the integrity of your own mind. Absolve you to yourself, and you shall have the suffrage of the world. I remember an answer which when quite young I was prompted to make to a valued adviser, who was wont to importune me with the dear old doctrines of the church. On my saying, What have I to do with the sacredness of traditions, if I live wholly from within? my friend suggested, — "But these impulses may be from below, not from above." I replied, "They do not seem to me to be such; but if I am the Devil's child, I will live then from the Devil." No law can be sacred to me but that of my nature. Good and bad are but names very readily transferable to that or this; the only right is what is after my constitution, the only wrong what is against it. A man is to carry himself in the presence of all opposition, as if every thing were titular10 and ephemeral11 but he. I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions. Every decent and well-spoken individual affects and sways me more than is right. I ought to go upright and vital, and speak the rude truth in all ways. If malice and vanity wear the coat of philanthropy, shall that pass? If an angry bigot assumes this bountiful cause of Abolition, and comes to me with his last news from Barbadoes, why should I not say to him, 'Go love thy infant; love thy wood-chopper: be good-natured and modest: have that grace; and never varnish your hard, uncharitable ambition with this incredible tenderness for black folk a thousand miles off. Thy love afar is spite at home.' Rough and graceless would be such greeting, but truth is handsomer than the affectation of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it, — else it is none. The doctrine of hatred must be preached as the counteraction of the doctrine of love when that pules and whines. I shun father and mother and wife and brother, when my genius calls me. I would write on the lintels12 of the door-post, Whim. I hope it is somewhat better than whim at last, but we cannot spend the day in explanation. Expect me not to show cause why I seek or why I exclude company. Then, again, do not tell me, as a good man did to-day, of my obligation to put all poor men in good situations. Are they my poor? I tell thee, thou foolish philanthropist,13 that I grudge the dollar, the dime, the cent, I give to such men as do not belong to me and to whom I do not belong. There is a class of persons to whom by all spiritual affinity I am bought and sold; for them I will go to prison, if need be; but your miscellaneous popular charities; the education at college of fools; the building of meeting-houses to the vain end to which many now stand; alms to sots; and the thousandfold Relief Societies; — though I confess with shame I sometimes succumb and give the dollar, it is a wicked dollar which by and by I shall have the manhood to withhold.
Virtues are, in the popular estimate, rather the exception than the rule. There is the man and his virtues. Men do what is called a good action, as some piece of courage or charity, much as they would pay a fine in expiation of daily non-appearance on parade. Their works are done as an apology or extenuation of their living in the world, — as invalids and the insane pay a high board. Their virtues are penances. I do not wish to expiate,14 but to live. My life is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady. I wish it to be sound and sweet, and not to need diet and bleeding. I ask primary evidence that you are a man, and refuse this appeal from the man to his actions. I know that for myself it makes no difference whether I do or forbear those actions which are reckoned excellent. I cannot consent to pay for a privilege where I have intrinsic right. Few and mean as my gifts may be, I actually am, and do not need for my own assurance or the assurance of my fellows any secondary testimony.
What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.
The objection to conforming to usages that have become dead to you is, that it scatters your force. It loses your time and blurs the impression of your character. If you maintain a dead church, contribute to a dead Bible-society, vote with a great party either for the government or against it, spread your table like base housekeepers, — under all these screens I have difficulty to detect the precise man you are. And, of course, so much force is withdrawn from your proper life. But do your work, and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself. A man must consider what a blindman's-buff is this game of conformity. If I know your sect, I anticipate your argument. I hear a preacher announce for his text and topic the expediency of one of the institutions of his church. Do I not know beforehand that not possibly can he say a new and spontaneous word? Do I not know that, with all this ostentation15 of examining the grounds of the institution, he will do no such thing? Do I not know that he is pledged to himself not to look but at one side, — the permitted side, not as a man, but as a parish minister? He is a retained attorney, and these airs of the bench are the emptiest affectation. Well, most men have bound their eyes with one or another handkerchief, and attached themselves to some one of these communities of opinion. This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars. Their every truth is not quite true. Their two is not the real two, their four not the real four; so that every word they say chagrins us, and we know not where to begin to set them right. Meantime nature is not slow to equip us in the prison-uniform of the party to which we adhere. We come to wear one cut of face and figure, and acquire by degrees the gentlest asinine expression. There is a mortifying experience in particular, which does not fail to wreak itself also in the general history; I mean "the foolish face of praise," the forced smile which we put on in company where we do not feel at ease in answer to conversation which does not interest us. The muscles, not spontaneously moved, but moved by a low usurping16 willfulness, grow tight about the outline of the face with the most disagreeable sensation.
For nonconformity the world whips you with its displeasure. And therefore a man must know how to estimate a sour face. The by-standers look askance17 on him in the public street or in the friend's parlour. If this aversation had its origin in contempt and resistance like his own, he might well go home with a sad countenance; but the sour faces of the multitude, like their sweet faces, have no deep cause, but are put on and off as the wind blows and a newspaper directs. Yet is the discontent of the multitude more formidable than that of the senate and the college. It is easy enough for a firm man who knows the world to brook the rage of the cultivated classes. Their rage is decorous and prudent, for they are timid as being very vulnerable themselves. But when to their feminine rage the indignation of the people is added, when the ignorant and the poor are aroused, when the unintelligent brute force that lies at the bottom of society is made to growl and mow, it needs the habit of magnanimity18 and religion to treat it godlike as a trifle of no concernment.
The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.
But why should you keep your head over your shoulder? Why drag about this corpse of your memory, lest you contradict somewhat you have stated in this or that public place? Suppose you should contradict yourself; what then? It seems to be a rule of wisdom never to rely on your memory alone, scarcely even in acts of pure memory, but to bring the past for judgment into the thousand-eyed present, and live ever in a new day. In your metaphysics you have denied personality to the Deity: yet when the devout motions of the soul come, yield to them heart and life, though they should clothe God with shape and color. Leave your theory, as Joseph his coat in the hand of the harlot, and flee.
A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines. With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do. He may as well concern himself with his shadow on the wall. Speak what you think now in hard words, and to-morrow speak what to-morrow thinks in hard words again, though it contradict every thing you said to-day. — 'Ah, so you shall be sure to be misunderstood.' — Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.
. . . .
1 admonition: n., a warning; a caution; a reproof.
2 latent: adj., present but not visible, apparent, or actualized; existing as potential: latent ability.
3 firmament: n., the vault of heaven; sky.
4 manifest: v., readily perceived by the eye or the understanding; evident; obvious; apparent; plain.
5 transcendent: adj., going beyond ordinary limits; surpassing; exceeding; superior or supreme.
6 piquancy: n., an agreeably interesting or attractive characteristic.
7 conciliate: v., to overcome distrust or hostility; placate; win over; make compatible; reconcile.
8 cumbers: tr v., to weigh down; to hamper or hinder.
9 eclat: n., showy or elaborate display.
10 titular: adj., existing or being such in title only; nominal; having the title but none of the associated duties or powers.
11 ephemeral: adj., lasting a very short time; short-lived; transitory.
12 lintel: n., horizontal structural member, such as a beam or stone, that spans an opening, as between the uprights of a door or window or between two columns or piers.
13 philanthropist: n., a person who tries to increase the well-being of humankind, as by charitable aid or donations.
14 expiate: v., to atone for; make amends or reparation for.
15 ostentation: n., a display intended to impress others.
16 usurping: v. tr., sezing and holding by force or without legal authority.
17 askance: adv., with suspicion, mistrust, or disapproval.
18 magnanimity: n., loftiness of thought or purpose.
Song of Myself
By Walt Whitman
1819-1892
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
I loafe and invite my soul,
I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.
My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air,
Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their
parents the same,
I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,
Hoping to cease not till death.
Creeds and schools in abeyance,1
Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,
I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,
Nature without check with original energy.
2
Houses and rooms are full of perfumes, the shelves are crowded with
perfumes,
I breathe the fragrance myself and know it and like it,
The distillation would intoxicate me also, but I shall not let it.
The atmosphere is not a perfume, it has no taste of the
distillation, it is odorless,
It is for my mouth forever, I am in love with it,
I will go to the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked,
I am mad for it to be in contact with me.
The smoke of my own breath,
Echoes, ripples, buzz'd whispers, love-root, silk-thread, crotch and vine,
My respiration and inspiration, the beating of my heart, the passing
of blood and air through my lungs,
The sniff of green leaves and dry leaves, and of the shore and
dark-color'd sea-rocks, and of hay in the barn,
The sound of the belch'd words of my voice loos'd to the eddies of
the wind,
A few light kisses, a few embraces, a reaching around of arms,
The play of shine and shade on the trees as the supple boughs wag,
The delight alone or in the rush of the streets, or along the fields
and hill-sides,
The feeling of health, the full-noon trill, the song of me rising
from bed and meeting the sun.
Have you reckon'd a thousand acres much? have you reckon'd the earth much?
Have you practis'd so long to learn to read?
Have you felt so proud to get at the meaning of poems?
Stop this day and night with me and you shall possess the origin of
all poems,
You shall possess the good of the earth and sun, (there are millions
of suns left,)
You shall no longer take things at second or third hand, nor look through
the eyes of the dead, nor feed on the spectres in books,
You shall not look through my eyes either, nor take things from me,
You shall listen to all sides and filter them from your self.
3
I have heard what the talkers were talking, the talk of the
beginning and the end,
But I do not talk of the beginning or the end.
There was never any more inception than there is now,
Nor any more youth or age than there is now,
And will never be any more perfection than there is now,
Nor any more heaven or hell than there is now.
Urge and urge and urge,
Always the procreant2 urge of the world.
Out of the dimness opposite equals advance, always substance and
increase, always sex,
Always a knit of identity, always distinction, always a breed of life.
To elaborate is no avail, learn'd and unlearn'd feel that it is so.
Sure as the most certain sure, plumb in the uprights, well
entretied, braced in the beams,
Stout as a horse, affectionate, haughty, electrical,
I and this mystery here we stand.
Clear and sweet is my soul, and clear and sweet is all that is not my soul.
Lack one lacks both, and the unseen is proved by the seen,
Till that becomes unseen and receives proof in its turn.
Showing the best and dividing it from the worst age vexes age,
Knowing the perfect fitness and equanimity of things, while they
discuss I am silent, and go bathe and admire myself.
Welcome is every organ and attribute of me, and of any man hearty and clean,
Not an inch nor a particle of an inch is vile, and none shall be
less familiar than the rest.
I am satisfied--I see, dance, laugh, sing;
As the hugging and loving bed-fellow sleeps at my side through the night,
and withdraws at the peep of the day with stealthy tread,
Leaving me baskets cover'd with white towels swelling the house with
their plenty,
Shall I postpone my acceptation and realization and scream at my eyes,
That they turn from gazing after and down the road,
And forthwith cipher3 and show me to a cent,
Exactly the value of one and exactly the value of two, and which is ahead?
6
A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands;
How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.
I guess it must be the flag of my disposition, out of hopeful green
stuff woven.
Or I guess it is the handkerchief of the Lord,
A scented gift and remembrancer designedly dropt,
Bearing the owner's name someway in the corners, that we may see
and remark, and say Whose?
Or I guess the grass is itself a child, the produced babe of the vegetation.
Or I guess it is a uniform hieroglyphic,
And it means, Sprouting alike in broad zones and narrow zones,
Growing among black folks as among white,
Kanuck, Tuckahoe, Congressman, Cuff, I give them the same, I
receive them the same.
And now it seems to me the beautiful uncut hair of graves.
Tenderly will I use you curling grass,
It may be you transpire from the breasts of young men,
It may be if I had known them I would have loved them,
It may be you are from old people, or from offspring taken soon out
of their mothers' laps,
And here you are the mothers' laps.
This grass is very dark to be from the white heads of old mothers,
Darker than the colorless beards of old men,
Dark to come from under the faint red roofs of mouths.
O I perceive after all so many uttering tongues,
And I perceive they do not come from the roofs of mouths for nothing.
I wish I could translate the hints about the dead young men and women,
And the hints about old men and mothers, and the offspring taken
soon out of their laps.
What do you think has become of the young and old men?
And what do you think has become of the women and children?
They are alive and well somewhere,
The smallest sprout shows there is really no death,
And if ever there was it led forward life, and does not wait at the
end to arrest it,
And ceas'd the moment life appear'd.
All goes onward and outward, nothing collapses,
And to die is different from what any one supposed, and luckier.
7
Has any one supposed it lucky to be born?
I hasten to inform him or her it is just as lucky to die, and I know it.
I pass death with the dying and birth with the new-wash'd babe, and
am not contain'd between my hat and boots,
And peruse manifold objects, no two alike and every one good,
The earth good and the stars good, and their adjuncts all good.
I am not an earth nor an adjunct of an earth,
I am the mate and companion of people, all just as immortal and
fathomless as myself,
(They do not know how immortal, but I know.)
Every kind for itself and its own, for me mine male and female,
For me those that have been boys and that love women,
For me the man that is proud and feels how it stings to be slighted,
For me the sweet-heart and the old maid, for me mothers and the
mothers of mothers,
For me lips that have smiled, eyes that have shed tears,
For me children and the begetters of children.
Undrape! you are not guilty to me, nor stale nor discarded,
I see through the broadcloth and gingham whether or no,
And am around, tenacious,4 acquisitive,5 tireless, and cannot be shaken away.
14
The wild gander leads his flock through the cool night,
Ya-honk he says, and sounds it down to me like an invitation,
The pert may suppose it meaningless, but I listening close,
Find its purpose and place up there toward the wintry sky.
The sharp-hoof'd moose of the north, the cat on the house-sill, the
chickadee, the prairie-dog,
The litter of the grunting sow as they tug at her teats,
The brood of the turkey-hen and she with her half-spread wings,
I see in them and myself the same old law.
The press of my foot to the earth springs a hundred affections,
They scorn the best I can do to relate them.
I am enamour'd of growing out-doors,
Of men that live among cattle or taste of the ocean or woods,
Of the builders and steerers of ships and the wielders of axes and
mauls, and the drivers of horses,
I can eat and sleep with them week in and week out.
What is commonest, cheapest, nearest, easiest, is Me,
Me going in for my chances, spending for vast returns,
Adorning myself to bestow myself on the first that will take me,
Not asking the sky to come down to my good will,
Scattering it freely forever.
16
I am of old and young, of the foolish as much as the wise,
Regardless of others, ever regardful of others,
Maternal as well as paternal, a child as well as a man,
Stuff'd with the stuff that is coarse and stuff'd with the stuff
that is fine,
One of the Nation of many nations, the smallest the same and the
largest the same,
A Southerner soon as a Northerner, a planter nonchalant and
hospitable down by the Oconee I live,
A Yankee bound my own way ready for trade, my joints the limberest
joints on earth and the sternest joints on earth,
A Kentuckian walking the vale of the Elkhorn in my deer-skin
leggings, a Louisianian or Georgian,
A boatman over lakes or bays or along coasts, a Hoosier, Badger, Buckeye;
At home on Kanadian snow-shoes or up in the bush, or with fishermen
off Newfoundland,
At home in the fleet of ice-boats, sailing with the rest and tacking,
At home on the hills of Vermont or in the woods of Maine, or the
Texan ranch,
Comrade of Californians, comrade of free North-Westerners, (loving
their big proportions,)
Comrade of raftsmen and coalmen, comrade of all who shake hands
and welcome to drink and meat,
A learner with the simplest, a teacher of the thoughtfullest,
A novice beginning yet experient of myriads6 of seasons,
Of every hue and caste am I, of every rank and religion,
A farmer, mechanic, artist, gentleman, sailor, quaker,
Prisoner, fancy-man, rowdy, lawyer, physician, priest.
I resist any thing better than my own diversity,
Breathe the air but leave plenty after me,
And am not stuck up, and am in my place.
(The moth and the fish-eggs are in their place,
The bright suns I see and the dark suns I cannot see are in their place,
The palpable7 is in its place and the impalpable is in its place.)
17
These are really the thoughts of all men in all ages and lands, they
are not original with me,
If they are not yours as much as mine they are nothing, or next to nothing,
If they are not the riddle and the untying of the riddle they are nothing,
If they are not just as close as they are distant they are nothing.
This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,
This the common air that bathes the globe.
21
I am the poet of the Body and I am the poet of the Soul,
The pleasures of heaven are with me and the pains of hell are with me,
The first I graft and increase upon myself, the latter I translate
into new tongue.
I am the poet of the woman the same as the man,
And I say it is as great to be a woman as to be a man,
And I say there is nothing greater than the mother of men.
I chant the chant of dilation or pride,
We have had ducking and deprecating about enough,
I show that size is only development.
Have you outstript the rest? are you the President?
It is a trifle, they will more than arrive there every one, and
still pass on.
I am he that walks with the tender and growing night,
I call to the earth and sea half-held by the night.
Press close bare-bosom'd night--press close magnetic nourishing night!
Night of south winds--night of the large few stars!
Still nodding night--mad naked summer night.
Smile O voluptuous cool-breath'd earth!
Earth of the slumbering and liquid trees!
Earth of departed sunset--earth of the mountains misty-topt!
Earth of the vitreous8 pour of the full moon just tinged with blue!
Earth of shine and dark mottling the tide of the river!
Earth of the limpid gray of clouds brighter and clearer for my sake!
Far-swooping elbow'd earth--rich apple-blossom'd earth!
Smile, for your lover comes.
Prodigal, you have given me love--therefore I to you give love!
O unspeakable passionate love.
24
Walt Whitman, a kosmos, of Manhattan the son,
Turbulent, fleshy, sensual, eating, drinking and breeding,
No sentimentalist, no stander above men and women or apart from them,
No more modest than immodest.
Unscrew the locks from the doors!
Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!
Whoever degrades another degrades me,
And whatever is done or said returns at last to me.
Through me the afflatus9 surging and surging, through me the current
and index.
I speak the pass-word primeval, I give the sign of democracy,
By God! I will accept nothing which all cannot have their
counterpart of on the same terms.
Through me many long dumb voices,
Voices of the interminable generations of prisoners and slaves,
Voices of the diseas'd and despairing and of thieves and dwarfs,
Voices of cycles of preparation and accretion,10
And of the threads that connect the stars, and of wombs and of the
father-stuff,
And of the rights of them the others are down upon,
Of the deform'd, trivial, flat, foolish, despised,
Fog in the air, beetles rolling balls of dung.
Through me forbidden voices,
Voices of sexes and lusts, voices veil'd and I remove the veil,
Voices indecent by me clarified and transfigur'd.
I do not press my fingers across my mouth,
I keep as delicate around the bowels as around the head and heart,
Copulation is no more rank to me than death is.
I believe in the flesh and the appetites,
Seeing, hearing, feeling, are miracles, and each part and tag of me
is a miracle.
Divine am I inside and out, and I make holy whatever I touch or am
touch'd from,
The scent of these arm-pits aroma finer than prayer,
This head more than churches, bibles, and all the creeds.
If I worship one thing more than another it shall be the spread of
my own body, or any part of it,
Translucent mould of me it shall be you!
Shaded ledges and rests it shall be you!
Firm masculine colter it shall be you!
Whatever goes to the tilth of me it shall be you!
You my rich blood! your milky stream pale strippings of my life!
Breast that presses against other breasts it shall be you!
My brain it shall be your occult convolutions!
Root of wash'd sweet-flag! timorous pond-snipe! nest of guarded
duplicate eggs! it shall be you!
Mix'd tussled hay of head, beard, brawn, it shall be you!
Trickling sap of maple, fibre of manly wheat, it shall be you!
Sun so generous it shall be you!
Vapors lighting and shading my face it shall be you!
You sweaty brooks and dews it shall be you!
Winds whose soft-tickling genitals rub against me it shall be you!
Broad muscular fields, branches of live oak, loving lounger in my
winding paths, it shall be you!
Hands I have taken, face I have kiss'd, mortal I have ever touch'd,
it shall be you.
I dote on myself, there is that lot of me and all so luscious,
Each moment and whatever happens thrills me with joy,
I cannot tell how my ankles bend, nor whence the cause of my faintest wish,
Nor the cause of the friendship I emit, nor the cause of the
friendship I take again.
That I walk up my stoop, I pause to consider if it really be,
A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics
of books.
To behold the day-break!
The little light fades the immense and diaphanous11 shadows,
The air tastes good to my palate.
Hefts of the moving world at innocent gambols12 silently rising
freshly exuding,
Scooting obliquely high and low.
Something I cannot see puts upward libidinous prongs,
Seas of bright juice suffuse heaven.
The earth by the sky staid with, the daily close of their junction,
The heav'd challenge from the east that moment over my head,
The mocking taunt, See then whether you shall be master!
31
I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey work of the stars,
And the pismire13 is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg
of the wren,
And the tree-toad is a chef-d'oeuvre for the highest,
And the running blackberry would adorn the parlors of heaven,
And the narrowest hinge in my hand puts to scorn all machinery,
And the cow crunching with depress'd head surpasses any statue,
And a mouse is miracle enough to stagger sextillions of infidels.
I find I incorporate gneiss14, coal, long-threaded moss, fruits,
grains, esculent roots,
And am stucco'd with quadrupeds and birds all over,
And have distanced what is behind me for good reasons,
But call any thing back again when I desire it.
In vain the speeding or shyness,
In vain the plutonic rocks send their old heat against my approach,
In vain the mastodon retreats beneath its own powder'd bones,
In vain objects stand leagues off and assume manifold shapes,
In vain the ocean settling in hollows and the great monsters lying low,
In vain the buzzard houses herself with the sky,
In vain the snake slides through the creepers and logs,
In vain the elk takes to the inner passes of the woods,
In vain the razor-bill'd auk sails far north to Labrador,
I follow quickly, I ascend to the nest in the fissure of the cliff.
32
I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and
self-contain'd,
I stand and look at them long and long.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition,
They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins,
They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God,
Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of
owning things,
Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of
years ago,
Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth.
So they show their relations to me and I accept them,
They bring me tokens of myself, they evince them plainly in their
possession.
I wonder where they get those tokens,
Did I pass that way huge times ago and negligently drop them?
Myself moving forward then and now and forever,
Gathering and showing more always and with velocity,
Infinite and omnigenous,15 and the like of these among them,
Not too exclusive toward the reachers of my remembrancers,
Picking out here one that I love, and now go with him on brotherly terms.
A gigantic beauty of a stallion, fresh and responsive to my caresses,
Head high in the forehead, wide between the ears,
Limbs glossy and supple, tail dusting the ground,
Eyes full of sparkling wickedness, ears finely cut, flexibly moving.
His nostrils dilate as my heels embrace him,
His well-built limbs tremble with pleasure as we race around and return.
I but use you a minute, then I resign you, stallion,
Why do I need your paces when I myself out-gallop them?
Even as I stand or sit passing faster than you.
48
I have said that the soul is not more than the body,
And I have said that the body is not more than the soul,
And nothing, not God, is greater to one than one's self is,
And whoever walks a furlong without sympathy walks to his own
funeral drest in his shroud,
And I or you pocketless of a dime may purchase the pick of the earth,
And to glance with an eye or show a bean in its pod confounds the
learning of all times,
And there is no trade or employment but the young man following it
may become a hero,
And there is no object so soft but it makes a hub for the wheel'd universe,
And I say to any man or woman, Let your soul stand cool and composed
before a million universes.
And I say to mankind, Be not curious about God,
For I who am curious about each am not curious about God,
(No array of terms can say how much I am at peace about God and
about death.)
I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least,
Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself.
Why should I wish to see God better than this day?
I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,
In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass,
I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign'd
by God's name,
And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe'er I go,
Others will punctually come for ever and ever.
51
The past and present wilt--I have fill'd them, emptied them.
And proceed to fill my next fold of the future.
Listener up there! what have you to confide to me?
Look in my face while I snuff the sidle of evening,
(Talk honestly, no one else hears you, and I stay only a minute longer.)
Do I contradict myself?
Very well then I contradict myself,
(I am large, I contain multitudes.)
I concentrate toward them that are nigh, I wait on the door-slab.
Who has done his day's work? who will soonest be through with his supper?
Who wishes to walk with me?
Will you speak before I am gone? will you prove already too late?
52
The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab
and my loitering.
I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable,
I sound my barbaric yawp over the roofs of the world.
The last scud16 of day holds back for me,
It flings my likeness after the rest and true as any on the shadow'd wilds,
It coaxes me to the vapor and the dusk.
I depart as air, I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,
I effuse my flesh in eddies, and drift it in lacy jags.
I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,
If you want me again look for me under your boot-soles.
You will hardly know who I am or what I mean,
But I shall be good health to you nevertheless,
And filter and fibre your blood.
Failing to fetch me at first keep encouraged,
Missing me one place search another,
I stop somewhere waiting for you.
1 abeyance: n., temporary inactivity, cessation; suspension.
2 procreant: adj., pertaining to procreation which is the act of begetting and conceiving offspring.
3 cipher: v., to solve by means of arithmetic.
4 tenacious: adj., holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold.
5 acquisitive: adj., tending or seeking to acquire and own, often greedily; eager to get wealth, possessions, etc.
6 myriad: n., a very great or indefinitely great number of persons or things; ten thousand.
7 palpable: adj., capable of being touched or felt; tangible.
8 vitreous: adj., of the nature of or resembling glass, as in transparency, brittleness, hardness, glossiness, etc.
9 afflatus: n., inspiration; an impelling mental force acting from within; divine communication of knowledge.
10 accretion: n., an increase by natural growth or by gradual external addition; growth in size or extent.
11 diaphanous: adj., very sheer and light; almost completely transparent ortranslucent; delicately hazy.
12 gambols: n., a playful skipping frolicking about.
13 pismire: n., an ant.
14 gneiss: n., a metamorphic rock, generally made up of bands that differ in color and composition, some bands being rich in feldspar and quartz, others rich in hornblende or mica.
15 omnigenous: adj., consisting of all kinds.
16 scud: n., low drifting clouds appearing beneath a cloud from which precipitation is falling.
Lord of the Flies NAME: ____________________________________
Directions: Correct the mechanics and re-write each of the statements in standard written English. Then, sequence the sentences into the correct order by placing a “1” next to the sentence that corresponds with the event that happened first.
CHAPTERS 1 and 2
1. ______ Piggie demonstrate how to blow the conch shelle.
2. ______ A large scar be made in the un-touched jungle of the Island.
3. ______ The little boy wit the birth-mark goes missing.
4. ______ Them boys use Piggys specticles to lite the fire.
5. ______ Jack is disappointed that he musn’t kill the pig but he said hed do it next time.
6. ______ A war begins rageing in the World beyond the Island.
7. ______ Ralph calls an assembley and states there is no adults.
CHAPTERS 3 and 4
8. ______ A pig is rowsted and everyone eats celebrates and participates in a wild tribal dance.
9. ______ The boys’ argue bout weather hunting or tending to the fire are most important.
10. ______ Simon helps the young children pick fruit he hides in the creapers.
11. ______ Smoke from a ship is spoted in the distince.
12. ______ Piggy’s glasses git breaked in a fight.
13. _______Jack is trackin a pig cause he be wanting to kill it, for food.
14. ______ Roger nock down sandstructures and throw rock at a little boy.
CHAPTERS 5 and 6
15. ______ Unbeknowst to the boys something lands in the midle of the night.
16. ______Jack hunters’ admit they be dreaming of the beast at night.
17. ______ Ralph wanders what he should do as Chief.
18. ______The parachuteist dyes.
19. ______Sam and Eric are afeared, and run to the others.
20. ______Ralph says to Jack We want smoke you go wasting your time you roll rocks.
21. ______A little kid say he think the beast comes from the Sea.
CHAPTERS 7 and 8
22. ______Jack returns from the afraid mountain.
23. ______ Ralph present the idea that the beast doesn’t want them to get rescud.
24. ______ Golding states the desire to squeaze and hurt was overmastering
25. ______ Piggy is so ex-cited about Ralph leaving so he fetch wood.
26. ______ Ralph sees a pig and spear it shocked at his own success.
27. ______Jack demands a knew vote for chief but becomes embarassed and crying when noone vote for him.
28. ______ Piggy suggests to build a fire on the sure.
CHAPTERS 9 and 10
29. ______ Ralph and Piggy speak in the beach about there guilt from last nights ‘feast’.
30. ______ Piggy wont admit to participation in the terible event.
31. ______ Simon looses his innocent after he speak to the beast.
32. ______ Simon is murdered, by a attack from the boys’.
33. ______ Ralph and Piggy are described as loan figures on the Beach.
34. ______ Simon sleeps in the creepers he is exhausted mentally and physically.
CHAPTERS 11 and 12
35. ______ At both ends Roger sharpins his stick.
36. ______ Piggy becomes enraged and tells Ralph that he will confront Jack empowered by the conch.
37. ______Piggy’s corps is washed away by the waves in the Ocean.
38. ______The two chieves fight with words and stones.
39. ______A giant bolder kills Piggy.
40. ______A Naval Officer asks Ralph what were happening and wear the adults are at.
41. ______Sam and Eric tell Ralph that Jack is plan a hunt for him tomorra he should find a clevur hiding place.
******************************************************************************************
ANSWERS to Chapters 1 and 2
1. A war begins to rage in the world beyond the island.
2. A large scar is made in the untouched jungle of the island.
3. Piggy demonstrates how to blow the conch shell.
4. Jack is disappointed that he couldn’t kill the pig, but he said that he would next time.
5. Ralph calls an assembly and states that there are no adults.
6. The boys use Piggy’s spectacles to ignite the fire.
7. The little boy with the birthmark is missing.
ANSWERS to Chapters 3 and 4
8. Jack is tracking a pig because he wants to kill it for food.
9. The boys argue about whether hunting or tending to the fire more important.
10. Simon helps the young children pick fruit; he hides in the creepers.
11. Roger knocks down sand structures and throws rocks at a little boy.
12. Smoke from a ship is spotted in the distance.
13. Piggy’s glasses are broken in a fight.
14. A pig is roasted, and everyone eats, celebrates, and participates in a wild tribal dance.
ANSWERS to Chapters 5 and 6
15. Ralph wonders what he should do as chief.
16. Jack’s hunters admit they are dreaming of the beast at night.
17. A little kid says he thinks that the beast comes from the sea.
18. The parachutist dies.
19. Unbeknownst to the boys, something lands in the middle of the night.
20. Sam and Eric are afraid and run to the others.
21. Ralph says to Jack, “We want smoke, and you go wasting your time. You roll rocks.”
ANSWERS to Chapters 7 and 8
22. Ralph sees a pig and spears it, shocked at his own success.
23. Golding states, “The desire to squeeze and hurt was over-mastering.”
24. Afraid, Jack returns from the mountain. (Or, Jack returns from the mountain afraid).
25. Ralph presents the idea that the beast doesn’t want them to be rescued.
26. Jack demands a new vote for chief but becomes embarrassed and cries when no one votes for him.
27. Piggy suggests building a fire on the shore.
28. Piggy is so excited about Ralph leaving that he fetches wood.
ANSWERS to Chapters 9 and 10
29. Simon loses his innocence after he speaks to the beast.
30. Simon sleeps in the creepers; he is exhausted mentally and physically.
31. Simon is murdered by the boys’ attack.
32. Ralph and Piggy are described as lone figures on the beach.
33. Ralph and Piggy speak on the beach about their guilt from last night’s ‘‘feast.’’
34. Piggy won’t admit to participating in the terrible event.
ANSWERS to Chapters 11 and 12
35. Empowered by the conch, Piggy becomes enraged and tells Ralph that he will confront Jack.
36. The two chiefs fight with words and stones.
37. A giant boulder kills Piggy.
38. Piggy’s corpse is washed away by the ocean waves. (or simply waves)
39. Sam and Eric tell Ralph that Jack is planning to hunt for him tomorrow; he should find a clever hiding place.
40. Roger sharpens his stick at both ends.
41. A naval officer asks Ralph what has happened and where the adults are.
Source: Bishop, B. Georgia State Department of Education, Learning Connections Site:
Name:_____________________________________ Title of Paper:_______________________________
Good and Evil Essay Rubric
To be accepted for scoring, the research paper must have the following: documentation (Bibliography/Works Cited and internal citation).
|Section I—Form (MLA) |
| |4 |3 |2 |1 |
|Manuscript Form—Typing/Spacing, Page Numbers/Order, Heading/Title | | | | |
|Documentation—Correct form for parenthetical documentation | | | | |
|Bibliography—At least 5 correctly typed entries on a Works— Cited page | | | | |
|Section I—Mechanics, Usage, Grammar |
|Sentence Construction Errors—Fused Sentence/Run-on Error, Comma Splice/Comma Fault Error, | | | | |
|Mixed Construction, Garbled Sentence, Stringy Sentences, Parallelism | | | | |
|Major Grammar Errors—Subject-Verb agreement, Verb Forms (principal parts and tense), Pronoun | | | | |
|Case/Usage/Antecedent Agreement, Adjective-Adverb Usage (such as double negatives), | | | | |
|Misplaced/Dangling Modifiers | | | | |
|Informal language—Incorrect word usage, contractions, slang, abbreviations, 1st/2nd person | | | | |
|pronouns, shift in tense | | | | |
|Minor Punctuation/Grammar/Spelling Errors—End Marks, Comma Errors, Underlining, Quotation | | | | |
|Marks, Spelling, Capitalization | | | | |
| |
|Scoring: |
|4 = Excellent (no errors) |
|3 = Good (two or fewer errors) |
|2 = Average (four or fewer errors) |
|1 = Unacceptable or Poor (five or more errors) |
|Section III--Content |
|Introduction-- | | | | |
|Thesis Statement—clearly stated, introduces the topic of the paper and the main points to be | | | | |
|discussed | | | | |
|Thesis/concepts Development | | | | |
|Organization | | | | |
|Accuracy | | | | |
|Citations | | | | |
| |
|Scoring: |
|4 = Excellent (demonstrates complete understanding of concept; shows thought, responds well to topic, and covers the appropriate scope of the |
|assignment; is well developed with specific, detailed, relevant, and accurate support; is organized in a unified and coherent manner) |
| |
|3 = Good (demonstrates understanding of concept with minimal misconception/confusion, responds with adequate analysis/response, elaborates with |
|enough examples and acceptable reasoning but needs more specific details to fully develop thesis, needs more transitions to maintain unity and |
|coherence) |
| |
|2 = Average (demonstrates limited understanding, may demonstrate an acceptable thesis but lacks sufficient details to support both major and |
|minor points, may digress, frequently lacks unity and coherence) |
| |
|1 = Unacceptable or Poor (demonstrates little or no understanding, lacks a thesis or fails to maintain an acceptable one, frequently digresses, |
|fails to provide supporting details or does not clarify relevance of details that are provided, lacks unity and coherence throughout) |
You are the captain of a ship in the middle of a storm. Your ship is taking on water, but you have elected to stay with the ship. You have been asked by the passengers to select the six of them who will try their luck in the life boat. The life boat will only hold six, yet there are ten passengers. They will abide by your decision. Your responsibility is to select the best six to try for an island and possible safety and rescue.
Your Choices:
1. A 17-year-old high school senior who is quite bright but also quite rebellious. He has started a club at school hoping to abolish the U. S. government.
2. A 50-year-old police officer, currently suspended for an incident involving the beating of two teenagers, who is armed and an expert in survival techniques.
3. A 15-year-old female honor student with a heart murmur and an astonishing knowledge of early civilizations.
4. A 70-year-old doctor who has a racial bias against anyone who is not white.
5. A 24-year-old housewife, recovering from an abortion, who has cheated on her husband but is a locally renowned runner of marathons.
6. The husband of the housewife, a construction worker, who has an anger-management problem but much charm.
7. A 35-year-old poet, recently released from a drug rehab facility, who writes beautifully and plays the guitar like a rock star.
8. A 65-year-old preacher who has served mankind all of his life and who has recently received a prestigious humanitarian award.
9. A pregnant 28-year-old woman who has a superiority complex and is consistently rude and demanding.
10. A 40-year-old woman, a chef in a five-star restaurant, who is slowly losing her sight.
Please follow this process guide to use the Osborn-Parnes Problem-Solving Method. Complete each step before moving to the next.
Step One: Mess Finding
The first step in the process is to identify the challenge that faces you. What is the mess? What opportunities do you feel it presents? What do you want to do about it? What result to you want to occur?
In the space below, describe the mess.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Make a list of opportunities you feel this mess presents to you or others.
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What are your possibilities for action? What have you tried? What will happen if you do not act? What good can you foresee?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Can you state the mess in three sentences or less? You might try stating it in the form of a problem.
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Data Finding
You have now defined the mess; move to data finding. What are the facts?
Answer as fully as possible the five questions concerning the problem: who, what, where, when, why and how. Craft the questions to fit your problem. Who might become who is involved or who is affected. What might be what are the causes. Create as many questions as you can with the six stems of who, what, where, when, why, and how.
After you craft your questions, start to gather data. Set a goal to gather enough facts to master the situation. Decide what research is needed and do it.
Once you have gathered your facts, brainstorm a list of all the facts. List them now.
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Are there still unanswered questions? What are they and where might you find the answers?
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Now, you will bring your critical mind to bear upon your data. Highlight the most pertinent facts. Find and mark the most significant and important facts. As you consider these facts, judge which ones might open the door to solutions.
Problem Finding
You are ready to focus on problem finding. Thinking about all of the data you have accumulated, you can truly focus on the problem. Reconsider your definition of the problem and your goal. What is the real problem? What might you do to meet the challenge? Write as many problem statements as you can. Begin each statement with either, “How I might,” “How I could,” or “How I will.”
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Can you think of any more statements, like “I wish,” “I am concerned about,” “Another need is…”?
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Review all of the above problem statements and highlight the most important one. Choose the one or a combination of ones you feel state the problem best. Your statement will be one, that, when acted upon with a solution, will yield the best and most benefits. Rewrite your problem statement in such a way that it opens the way for ideas to answer it.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Idea Finding
You will address the problem statement by formulating as many ideas for its solution as possible. This activity is a brainstorming one and calls for you to defer judgment by simply allowing your creativity to generate ideas. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Record any other ideas you have as you think about this problem over time. Bring all ideas or even combinations of ideas to the table as you seek to solve this problem. After you have spent the time to exhaust your possibilities, highlight the best ideas with the most potential to yield a good solution. Limit your highlighting to 6 or 7 ideas.
Solution Finding
Now you must apply your critical judgment to determine the worth of your ideas by using a list of criteria to evaluate them. The criteria for judging your ideas for a curriculum might include criteria such as Authentic, Non-Linear, Reward-Rich, Active, Interactive, Collaborative, Flexible, Media Rich, Cost-effective, Diversity, Simulations/Games, Technology-Rich, Fun, Fast, and Graphic-Rich. Whatever criteria you choose, be sure your ideas are good ones; be sure they reflect the values you want your solution to embrace.
Once you have determined the criteria you will use to judge your ideas, continue the solution— finding process by judging your ideas with a ten-point scale, with 10 going to the best and 1 labeling the worst. Make a chart with the ideas listed, one per line, down the page. Create columns across the page, one for each criterion. Evaluate your ideas with a score for each idea in each criterion column. Total each idea’s total points. This chart will help you determine which ideas fare the best using the criteria you have selected to shape your solution.
Acceptance Finding
Your solution will only work if it is accepted by those who will be affected by it.
Think about the people involved. What about your idea might pose a problem to gaining their acceptance? What could you do to remove negative thinking about your idea? What is the best way for you to gain support and agreement with your solution? Think about the resources you will need. What problems might crop up as you try to acquire and use those resources? What might go wrong? What things should you avoid doing? What must you do to overcome all obstacles?
Think about your action plan. Play out the implementation of your plan in your mind. Make a list of questions that might come your way and obstacles you may have to address. Once you have played out the solution as a virtual reality within your mind, develop a plan for implementing your idea. Be proactive by planning to address those areas that may pose problems before they arise. Make the plan sequential with start and stop dates. Outline the responsibilities of all participants. Make a list of checkpoints to check your sequence. In this way, you may be able to continue the refining process as you implement your plan. At any point, you may find that the Osborn-Parnes process may be used as part of an on-going refinement of the original plan.
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Owen Meany
50 Front Street
Gravesend, NH 77448
S.S. #: 444-44-4444
Phone: 555-555-7777
Job Objective:
To perform some human service for those who need to be lifted up.
Work Experience:
Burial Detail/Body Escort U.S. Army . 1971-74
Granite Worker Meany Granite Co. 1969-70
Lifeguard Y.M.C.A. 1969-70
Columnist The Voice 1968
Gravesend Academy
Education:
B.A. Degree University of Massachusetts 1969-1972
High School Diploma Gravesend Academy 1968
Related Skills:
Expertise with the diamond saw
Knowledge of military protocol
Teamwork skills through basketball and a special team event called The Shot
Acting and public speaking skills gained in town and church play productions
References:
Jonathan Wheelwright C/O St. Michael’s Ottawa, Canada
Pastor John Merrill First Congregational Church Gravesend, N.H.
Dan Needham 50 Front Street Gravesend, N.H.
Great Opinionnaire
Please read each statement below and indicate in writing whether you agree or disagree with each one, adding a rationale for each opinion. There are no “right” answers, only those that are well supported or not.
• Great people spring from humble beginnings.
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• Great people are strongly influenced by their parents and/or peers.
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• The Great are committed fully to some concept or value that results in their greatness.
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• The Great are quick learners.
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• Great people seldom experience failure.
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• The Great are frequently misunderstood.
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• Great people are respected by their peers.
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• The Great are sure of their purpose and path.
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• Great people reap the reward of their greatness.
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• Great people associate with other people who achieve fame.
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Label the map with the names of the inner circle, placing each person in the proper circle on the map. Write the name small so you have room within the circles to tally the number of times a person speaks. After the discussion, rank the people as 1 for the person with the most tally marks to 15 for the person who spoke least.
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Label the map with the names of the people in your circle. Place the point of your pencil at the inner edge of the circle of the person who speaks first. Draw a line to the person who speaks next. Continue the line from the second speaker to the third and so on. Rank the speakers by numbering the circles. Place 1 by the speaker who spoke most, 2 by the person who spoke second most, and so on. Within the large circle, write the names of the strongest 5 pairs.
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| |Excellent (100-90) |Good (89-80) |Fair 79-70) |Rewrite (69-60) |
|Style |Honest, enthusiastic, natural and |Consistent, strong voice; aware of |Occasionally strong writer's voice but |Confusing writing; hard to follow; |
|Writer’s Voice, Audience Awareness |thought-provoking; clear writer’s voice; |audience; informing; engaging; varied |generally vague, tentative, or |vague language; no audience |
| |strong sentences with varied structure; |sentence structure; coherent but |abstract; may be aware of audience; |awareness; disorganized; no variety |
| |insightful, thoughtful treatment of lesson|prescribed organizational structure |informing but not consistently |in sentence structure |
| | |rather than following lines or patterns |engaging; some variety of sentence | |
| | |of thought; predictable word choice |structure; generally stays on topic but| |
| | | |lapses into digressions; simple, | |
| | | |generic word choice | |
|Circumstance |Effective presentation of the circumstance|Dominant, overshadowing circumstance; |Unclear or simplistic circumstance and |Omitted circumstance or lesson; |
|Context, the set of facts or circumstances|of the lesson; specific detail; sensory |explaining rather than exploring, |lesson; autobiographical account but no|meaning in title only |
|that lead to the lesson; worthy of |language; narrative accounts; controlled |generalized idea or occasion, lacking |articulated lesson | |
|consideration; leads to a significant |pacing, dialogue or quotations to explain |detail in presentation of the occasion | | |
|lesson |lesson learned | | | |
|Meaning |Thoughtful interpretation of the lesson |Thoughtful but predictable; more |Undeveloped lesson; superficial |Little or no evidence of thoughtful |
|Essay is rich with meaning and insight. |learned; convincing; original presentation|circumstance than lesson; loose |generalizations, little connection to |meaning |
|Writer does not merely tell a story. |of ideas; natural expression of meaning, |connection between the experience and |the circumstance being discussed | |
|Writer weaves concrete fact and abstract |not something tacked on at the end, not |the essay purpose; sophisticated | | |
|thought throughout essay. |incongruous to the circumstance. |exploration of lesson lacking | | |
|Development |Good use of details; imaginative, precise |Some detail; some sensory language; some|Lists of details or generalizations |No elaboration; simple repetition of|
|Vivid language, sensory details, |language; rhythmical language; metaphors; |strategies for developing insight | |the initial statement |
|commentary supports and extends |balanced, organized, well-developed essay | | | |
|observations and facts. Each paragraph is| | | | |
|necessary. Introduction is engaging; | | | | |
|conclusion persuasive. Body | | | | |
|well-developed | | | | |
Title of Essay______________________________________________
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| |Excellent |Good |Fair |Rewrite |
|Heading | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Formatting | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Appearance | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Spelling, Punctuation, | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Capitalization | | | | |
|Grammar | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Vocabulary | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Sections | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
|Content | 10 9 | 8 7 | 6 5 |4 3 2 1 |
Total Points ____ out of 80
Comments:
Applying the Process:
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Significance:
Good Citizenship: The Purpose of Education
Pictorial Review 31 (April 1930): 4, 94, 97
….
What is the purpose of education? This question agitates scholars, teachers, statesmen, every group, in fact, of thoughtful men and women. The conventional answer is the acquisition of knowledge, the reading of books, and the learning of facts. Perhaps because there are so many books and the branches of knowledge in which we can learn facts are so multitudinous today, we begin to hear more frequently that the function of education is to give children a desire to learn and to teach them how to use their minds and where to go to acquire facts when their curiosity is aroused. Even more all-embracing than this is the statement made not long ago, before a group of English headmasters, by the Archbishop of York, that "the true purpose of education is to produce citizens."
If this is the goal – and in a democracy it would seem at least an important part of the ultimate achievement – then we must examine our educational system from a new point of view.
I am going to ask you to go back with me for a minute some thirty years or more and think of the changes wrought by the last few years.
At that time Theodore Roosevelt's example was for the first time awakening in many young men of America the feeling that their citizenship meant a little more than the privilege of living under the Stars and Stripes, criticizing the conditions of government and the men responsible for its policies and activities, enjoying such advantages as there might be under it, and, if necessary, dying for it in a war which they had had no share in bringing on or in trying to avert.
Theodore Roosevelt was teaching by precept and example that men owed something at all times, whether in peace or in war, for the privilege of citizenship and that the burden rested equally on rich and poor. He was saying that, no matter what conditions existed, the blame lay no more heavily on the politician and his machine controlling city, State, or nation, than on the shoulders of the average citizen who concerned himself so little with his government that he allowed men to stay in power in spite of his dissatisfaction because he was too indifferent to exert himself to get better men in office.
So young men of all kinds were hearing of a "service" which did not mean being a sailor or a soldier, a doctor or a minister, the only professions in which the word "service" had heretofore had a meaning! Thus began to be spread abroad the idea that "a service" was owed to the country in peace, and that this could only be rendered satisfactorily when every citizen took an interest in good government.
As girls went in those days, I suppose my own education was fairly typical, and I confess with some shame that at the age of twenty, when asked by an Englishwoman how our government functioned, I was as completely floored as if she had asked me to describe the political events on the moon! I had heard the men in the family mention political happenings, but it was not a subject of general or frequent conversation in our presence.
Women did not vote and were not expected to be interested. Besides there was something dark and sinister about politics, and it was more respectable not to know politicians or political methods too well. Business might necessitate some dealings with these rather inferior and nefarious beings, but the general attitude of the righteous was like that of a high-minded and upright citizen of New York City who once remarked to me that a certain political organization was undoubtedly corrupt, but he preferred ( though belonging to an opposite political party) to keep this wicked organization in power as "you paid for what you wanted and were sure to get it, whereas reform administrations were not so reliable in this ability to 'deliver the goods'!" I do not think I am unfair in saying that in most secondary schools, at least, the teachers of American history in those days laid more emphasis on the battle of Bunker Hill than they did on the obligations of citizenship which the children before them would soon be assuming. And this was largely because they could not teach what they did not understand, and few of them knew or cared what these obligations might be.
Gradually a change has come about. More young men and more young women (since the latter have had the vote) are doing political work. And even if they do not hold political office they have felt the need to understand their own government. In our schools are now given courses in civics, government, economics, current events. Very few children are as ignorant as I was. But there still remains a vast amount to be done before we accomplish our first objective-informed and intelligent citizens, and, secondly, bring about the realization that we are all responsible for the trend of thought and the action of our times.
How shall we arrive at these objectives? We think of course of history as a first means of information. Not the history which is a mere recital of facts, dates, wars, and kings, but a study of the life and growth of other nations, in which we follow the general moral, intellectual, and economic development through the ages, noting what brought about the rise and fall of nations and what were the lasting contributions of peoples now passed away to the development of the human family and the world as a whole.
Then we come down to our own history, observing the characteristics and the backgrounds of the people who founded our nation and those who have come to us since; the circumstances of pioneer life and the rapid industrial development. We trace the reasons for present-day attitudes of mind and for the establishment of customs and points of view which make up the rather elusive and yet unmistakable thing known as the "American spirit." We study the men in our history who have really made a constructive contribution, and those who have held us back, in order that we may know what qualities of mind and heart formed the characters which have left a mark on their time.
Gradually from this study certain facts emerge. A nation must have leaders, men who have the power to see a little farther, to imagine a little better life than the present. But if this vision is to be fulfilled, it must also have a vast army of men and women capable of understanding and following these leaders intelligently. These citizens must understand their government from the smallest election district to the highest administrative office. It must be no closed book to them, and each one must carry his own particular responsibility or the whole army will lag.
I would have our children visit national shrines, know why we love and respect certain men of the past. I would have them see how government departments are run and what are their duties, how courts function, what juries are, what a legislative body is and what it does. I would have them learn how we conduct our relationships with the rest of the world and what are our contacts with other nations. The child seeing and understanding these things will begin to envisage the varied pattern of the life of a great nation such as ours and how his own life and environment fit into the pattern and where his own usefulness may lie.
It is not, however, only in the courses bearing directly on history and government that citizenship can be taught. The child taking Latin and mathematics is also learning invaluable lessons in citizenship. The power of concentration and accuracy which these studies develop will later mean a man or woman able to understand and analyze a difficult situation. For example, arithmetic is necessary to a later understanding of economic questions. As citizens economic problems will often claim our attention, and the power to understand them is essential to wise solutions.
There are many questions today between capital and labor in our own country, and for that matter in the other countries of the world, which are drawing us closer and affecting our home conditions more and more each year. Mathematics and humanity are strangely intertwined, and an ability to understand both is essential to well-balanced decisions in questions of this kind. From the point of view of character-building, the harder these subjects are to master the greater will be the sense of self-mastery and perseverance developed.
The other school contacts-social activities and athletics-develop team play, cooperation, and thought and consideration for others. These are all essentials in good citizenship.
The practical side of good citizenship is developed most successfully in school because in miniature one is living in a society, and the conditions and problems of the larger society are more easily reproduced and met and solved. To accomplish this, however, presupposes a high grade of teaching, a teacher who not only teaches a subject but is always conscious of the relation of the subject to the larger purpose of learning to live.
Learning to be a good citizen is learning to live to the maximum of one's abilities and opportunities, and every subject should be taught every child with this in view. The teacher's personality and character are of the greatest importance. I have known many erudite and scholarly men and women who were dismal failures as teachers. I have known some less learned teachers who had the gift of inspiring youth and sending them on to heights where perhaps they themselves were unable to follow.
Knowledge is essential and much to be admired, but no one can know all there is to know in the world, and to inspire a spirit of humbleness toward those who have a real knowledge in any subject and to add to that the "insatiable curiosity" so well described in Kipling's "Just So Stories" is a greater achievement than to establish the idea that the teacher's knowledge is infallible and all-embracing.
You will be thinking that few teachers of this type exist and you will be right. The blame lies with the attitude toward teachers and the teaching of our present generation. We have set up a money value, a material gauge by which we measure success, but we have frequently given more time and more material compensation to our cooks and chauffeurs and day-laborers, bricklayers, carpenters, and painters than we have to our nurses, governesses, and tutors and teachers in schools and colleges.
We entrust the building of our children's characters and the development of their minds to people whom we, as a rule, compensate less liberally than we do the men and women who build our houses and make our day-by-day existence more comfortable and luxurious. These men and women teachers, paid from $1,200 to $5,000, and in extraordinary cases $10,000 a year, mold the future citizens of our country, and we do not treat them with the respect or consideration which their high calling deserves, nor do we reward them with the only reward which spells success according to our present standards.
One of our hard-worked businessmen said to me not long ago, "Why, these teacher fellows have a snap. Look at their long summer holidays, and you can't tell me it's as hard to tell a lot of youngsters about logarithms or Scott's novels as it is to handle my board of directors at one end and my shop committee at the other." My thought was that if he and his fellow members on the board of directors and the men on the shop committee had had the right kind of teaching his job would be easier because at both ends he would have men better able to understand the whole problem of industry and realize the necessity of cooperation.
Teachers must have leisure to prepare, to study, to journey in new fields, and to open new sources of knowledge and inspiration and experience for themselves. You cannot impart what you have not made your own. You cannot engender enthusiasm if you have lost it. Teaching is dead when the subject does not inspire enthusiasm in the teacher. Then there must be leisure to cultivate your pupils. The best teaching is often done outside of the classroom.
It always interests me how many Harvard men will speak of Professor Copeland's "Readings." They seem to look back on them as something particularly hallowed, and it seems to me that they have furnished inspiration to countless men whose lives have followed a hundred different paths. One cannot get to know young people in a crowd. Youth is shy and a teacher gets his best results both in the classroom and out when barriers are down, and it requires wooing before the barriers come down. But what patience and time unselfishly given to the problems and interests of individuals this means, only a good teacher knows, and he rarely tells.
When I was fifteen I came in contact with a really remarkable teacher, a strong and vital personality. All my life I have been grateful for her influence. She has been dead for many years, but to this day her presence lives with me. It was not so much the actual class work, tho I can still remember the wave of hot shame creeping over me when I had handed in a piece of shoddy work. She had great charity for mistakes, for real limitations in knowledge or experience, but if you tried to "get by" with inadequate research and preparation, or smart phrases instead of thought, you felt her scorn because she believed in you and felt you could do better and you had fallen down.
I think few of us worked under her without acquiring a conception of intellectual integrity and obligation at all times to do our best. I still remember evenings when she read to us and by her comments opened up avenues of thought. If ever in small ways I may do any good work in the world the credit will not be mine, but in part at least it will belong to the most inspiring teacher I ever knew.
A friend of mine says that in her class in high school almost every individual went out with the determination to do something in the world and make every effort to self-development. She says it was due to the contact with a teacher who lent them her books and talked them over (giving them their first appreciation of good literature), who went on picnics with them, and opened their eyes to the beauty of nature by her own keen appreciation and enjoyment.
I believe that each one of us, if we delve in our memories, can find some similar experience which will uphold my contention that a great teacher is more important than the most gorgeous building. Where no such contacts have been experienced, the most ideal surroundings will not make our school-days anything but a succession of dull and meaningless tasks.
There are many inadequate teachers today. Perhaps our standards should be higher, but they cannot be until we learn to value and understand the function of the teacher in our midst. While we have put much money in buildings and laboratories and gymnasiums, we have forgotten that they are but the shell, and will never live and create a vital spark in the minds and hearts of our youth unless some teacher furnishes the inspiration. A child responds naturally to high ideals, and we are all of us creatures of habit.
Begin young to teach the standards that should prevail in public servants, in governmental administration, in national and international business and politics, and show by relating to daily life and known experience the advantages derived from a well-run government. It will then be a logical conclusion that the ends cannot be achieved without the cooperation of every citizen. This will be readily grasped by the child because his daily experience in school illustrates the point.
The school alone cannot teach citizenship, however, any more than it can really educate a child. It can do much in directing thought and formulating standards, in creating habits of responsibility and courage and devotion. In the last analysis our home surroundings are the determining factor in development, and the example of those dear to us and constantly with us is what makes the warp and woof of our lives.
If the elders break the laws, do not bother to vote in elections or primaries, do not inform themselves and listen to the discussion of public questions, and do not take the trouble to make up their own minds after real consideration, the child will do likewise. If the elders look upon public questions from purely selfish angles, with a view as to how they will be affected personally, and not as to what are the needs of the country or of the world, then it is safe to predict that youth will do the same. This teaching of citizenship in the schools must be supplemented by teaching and example in the home.
I recognize of course that on our public schools devolves the teaching of by far the greatest number of our children and the added responsibility of taking great groups of new entrants into this country, and, either through adult classes or through their children, teaching them the ideals and standards of American citizenship; and I think we, who are already citizens, should realize how greatly our attitude influences newcomers. As a rule they have come to this country filled with dreams of the wonderful advantages and opportunities which await them.
Through their children and in their evening classes they hear our history and have explained to them great speeches of illustrious Americans of the past. And then too often they learn that the deeds in this new country fall short of its words, and they become the victims of poor citizenship as it is practised by some native Americans and by some who have lived here long enough to have absorbed true ideals and high standards if these were really an integral part of the people's lives. I think our private schools and our citizens who are able to support them should feel more keenly their connection with the public school system.
It may be easier to develop leaders in a private school because more attention is possible for individual pupils. Whether this is achieved or not, one thing must be done, namely, there must be developed men and women who shall take an interest in, and have an understanding of, every group of citizens and every phase of our national life, and this is more difficult to accomplish in private schools because the children are more sheltered.
As the great majority of our children are being educated in public schools, it is all-important that the standards of citizenship should be of the best. Whether we send our children to private school or public school we should take a constant interest in all educational institutions and remember that on the public school largely depends the success or the failure of our great experiment in government "by the people, for the people."
CITIZENSHIP IN A REPUBLIC
By Theodore Roosevelt
(1858-1919)
Delivered at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910
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Let those who have, keep, let those who have not, strive to attain, a high standard of cultivation and scholarship. Yet let us remember that these stand second to certain other things. There is need of a sound body, and even more need of a sound mind. But above mind and above body stands character—the sum of those qualities which we mean when we speak of a man's force and courage, of his good faith and sense of honor. I believe in exercise for the body, always provided that we keep in mind that physical development is a means and not an end. I believe, of course, in giving to all the people a good education. But the education must contain much besides book-learning in order to be really good. We must ever remember that no keenness and subtleness of intellect, no polish, no cleverness, in any way make up for the lack of the great solid qualities. Self-restraint, self-mastery, common sense, the power of accepting individual responsibility and yet of acting in conjunction with others, courage and resolution—these are the qualities which mark a masterful people. Without them no people can control itself, or save itself from being controlled from the outside. I speak to a brilliant assemblage; I speak in a great university which represents the flower of the highest intellectual development; I pay all homage to intellect, and to elaborate and specialized training of the intellect; and yet I know I shall have the assent of all of you present when I add that more important still are the commonplace, every-day qualities and virtues. 11
Such ordinary, every-day qualities include the will and the power to work, to fight at need, and to have plenty of healthy children. The need that the average man shall work is so obvious as hardly to warrant insistence. There are a few people in every country so born that they can lead lives of leisure. These fill a useful function if they make it evident that leisure does not mean idleness; for some of the most valuable work needed by civilization is essentially non-remunerative in its character, and of course the people who do this work should in large part be drawn from those to whom remuneration is an object of indifference. But the average man must earn his own livelihood. He should be trained to do so, and he should be trained to feel that he occupies a contemptible position if he does not do so; that he is not an object of envy if he is idle, at whichever end of the social scale he stands, but an object of contempt, an object of derision. 12
In the next place, the good man should be both a strong and a brave man; that is, he should be able to fight, he should be able to serve his country as a soldier, if the need arises. There are well-meaning philosophers who declaim against the unrighteousness of war. They are right only if they lay all their emphasis upon the unrighteousness. War is a dreadful thing, and unjust war is a crime against humanity. But it is such a crime because it is unjust, not because it is war. The choice must ever be in favor of righteousness, and this whether the alternative be peace or whether the alternative be war. The question must not be merely, Is there to be peace or war? The question must be, Is the right to prevail? Are the great laws of righteousness once more to be fulfilled? And the answer from a strong and virile people must be, "Yes," whatever the cost. Every honorable effort should always be made to avoid war, just as every honorable effort should always be made by the individual in private life to keep out of a brawl, to keep out of trouble; but no self-respecting individual, no self-respecting nation, can or ought to submit to wrong. 13
Finally, even more important than ability to work, even more important than ability to fight at need, is it to remember that the chief of blessings for any nation is that it shall leave its seed to inherit the land. It was the crown of blessings in Biblical times; and it is the crown of blessings now. The greatest of all curses is the curse of sterility, and the severest of all condemnations should be that visited upon willful sterility. The first essential in any civilization is that the man and the woman shall be father and mother of healthy children, so that the race shall increase and not decrease. If this is not so, if through no fault of the society there is failure to increase, it is a great misfortune. If the failure is due to deliberate and willful fault, then it is not merely a misfortune, it is one of those crimes of ease and self-indulgence, of shrinking from pain and effort and risk, which in the long run Nature punishes more heavily than any other. If we of the great republics, if we, the free people who claim to have emancipated ourselves from the thraldom of wrong and error, bring down on our heads the curse that comes upon the willfully barren, then it will be an idle waste of breath to prattle of our achievements, to boast of all that we have done. No refinement of life, no delicacy of taste, no material progress, no sordid heaping up of riches, no sensuous development of art and literature, can in any way compensate for the loss of the great fundamental virtues; and of these great fundamental virtues the greatest is the race's power to perpetuate the race. 14
Character must show itself in the man's performance both of the duty he owes himself and of the duty he owes the state. The man's foremost duty is owed to himself and his family; and he can do this duty only by earning money, by providing what is essential to material well-being; it is only after this has been done that he can hope to build a higher superstructure on the solid material foundation; it is only after this has been done that he can help in movements for the general well-being. He must pull his own weight first, and only after this can his surplus strength be of use to the general public. It is not good to excite that bitter laughter which expresses contempt; and contempt is what we feel for the being whose enthusiasm to benefit mankind is such that he is a burden to those nearest him; who wishes to do great things for humanity in the abstract, but who can not keep his wife in comfort or educate his children. 15
Nevertheless, while laying all stress on this point, while not merely acknowledging but insisting upon the fact that there must be a basis of material well-being for the individual as for the nation, let us with equal emphasis insist that this material well-being represents nothing but the foundation, and that the foundation, though indispensable, is worthless unless upon it is raised the superstructure of a higher life. That is why I decline to recognize the mere multimillionaire, the man of mere wealth, as an asset of value to any country; and especially as not an asset to my own country. If he has earned or uses his wealth in a way that makes him of real benefit, of real use—and such is often the case—why, then he does become an asset of worth. But it is the way in which it has been earned or used, and not the mere fact of wealth, that entitles him to the credit. There is need in business, as in most other forms of human activity, of the great guiding intelligences. Their places can not be supplied by any number of lesser intelligences. It is a good thing that they should have ample recognition, ample reward. But we must not transfer our admiration to the reward instead of to the deed rewarded; and if what should be the reward exists without the service having been rendered, then admiration will come only from those who are mean of soul. The truth is that, after a certain measure of tangible material success or reward has been achieved, the question of increasing it becomes of constantly less importance compared to other things that can be done in life. It is a bad thing for a nation to raise and to admire a false standard of success; and there can be no falser standard than that set by the deification of material well-being in and for itself. The man who, for any cause for which he is himself accountable, has failed to support himself and those for whom he is responsible, ought to feel that he has fallen lamentably short in his prime duty. But the man who, having far surpassed the limit of providing for the wants, both of body and mind, of himself and of those depending upon him, then piles up a great fortune, for the acquisition or retention of which he returns no corresponding benefit to the nation as a whole, should himself be made to feel that, so far from being a desirable, he is an unworthy, citizen of the community; that he is to be neither admired nor envied; that his right-thinking fellow countrymen put him low in the scale of citizenship, and leave him to be consoled by the admiration of those whose level of purpose is even lower than his own. 16
My position as regards the moneyed interests can be put in a few words. In every civilized society property rights must be carefully safeguarded; ordinarily, and in the great majority of cases, human rights and property rights are fundamentally and in the long run identical; but when it clearly appears that there is a real conflict between them, human rights must have the upper hand, for property belongs to man and not man to property. 17
In fact, it is essential to good citizenship clearly to understand that there are certain qualities which we in a democracy are prone to admire in and of themselves, which ought by rights to be judged admirable or the reverse solely from the standpoint of the use made of them. Foremost among these I should include two very distinct gifts—the gift of money-making and the gift of oratory. Money-making, the money touch, I have spoken of above. It is a quality which in a moderate degree is essential. It may be useful when developed to a very great degree, but only if accompanied and controlled by other qualities; and without such control the possessor tends to develop into one of the least attractive types produced by a modern industrial democracy. So it is with the orator. It is highly desirable that a leader of opinion in a democracy should be able to state his views clearly and convincingly. But all that the oratory can do of value to the community is to enable the man thus to explain himself; if it enables the orator to persuade his hearers to put false values on things, it merely makes him a power for mischief. Some excellent public servants have not the gift at all, and must rely upon their deeds to speak for them; and unless the oratory does represent genuine conviction based on good common sense and able to be translated into efficient performance, then the better the oratory the greater the damage to the public it deceives. Indeed, it is a sign of marked political weakness in any commonwealth if the people tend to be carried away by mere oratory, if they tend to value words in and for themselves, as divorced from the deeds for which they are supposed to stand. The phrase-maker, the phrase-monger, the ready talker, however great his power, whose speech does not make for courage, sobriety, and right understanding, is simply a noxious element in the body politic, and it speaks ill for the public if he has influence over them. To admire the gift of oratory without regard to the moral quality behind the gift is to do wrong to the republic. 18
Of course all that I say of the orator applies with even greater force to the orator's latter-day and more influential brother, the journalist. The power of the journalist is great, but he is entitled neither to respect nor admiration because of that power unless it is used aright. He can do, and he often does, great good. He can do, and he often does, infinite mischief. All journalists, all writers, for the very reason that they appreciate the vast possibilities of their profession, should bear testimony against those who deeply discredit it. Offences against taste and morals, which are bad enough in a private citizen, are infinitely worse if made into instruments for debauching the community through a newspaper. Mendacity, slander, sensationalism, inanity, vapid triviality, all are potent factors for the debauchery of the public mind and conscience. The excuse advanced for vicious writing, that the public demands it and that the demand must be supplied, can no more be admitted than if it were advanced by the purveyors of food who sell poisonous adulterations. 19
In short, the good citizen in a republic must realize that he ought to possess two sets of qualities, and that neither avails without the other. He must have those qualities which make for efficiency; and he must also have those qualities which direct the efficiency into channels for the public good. He is useless if he is inefficient. There is nothing to be done with that type of citizen of whom all that can be said is that he is harmless. Virtue which is dependent upon a sluggish circulation is not impressive. There is little place in active life for the timid good man. The man who is saved by weakness from robust wickedness is likewise rendered immune from the robuster virtues. The good citizen in a republic must first of all be able to hold his own. He is no good citizen unless he has the ability which will make him work hard and which at need will make him fight hard. The good citizen is not a good citizen unless he is an efficient citizen. 20
But if a man's efficiency is not guided and regulated by a moral sense, then the more efficient he is the worse he is, the more dangerous to the body politic. Courage, intellect, all the masterful qualities, serve but to make a man more evil if they are used merely for that man's own advancement, with brutal indifference to the rights of others. It speaks ill for the community if the community worships these qualities and treats their possessors as heroes regardless of whether the qualities are used rightly or wrongly. It makes no difference as to the precise way in which this sinister efficiency is shown. It makes no difference whether such a man's force and ability betray themselves in the career of money-maker or politician, soldier or orator, journalist or popular leader. If the man works for evil, then the more successful he is the more he should be despised and condemned by all upright and far-seeing men. To judge a man merely by success is an abhorrent wrong; and if the people at large habitually so judge men, if they grow to condone wickedness because the wicked man triumphs, they show their inability to understand that in the last analysis free institutions rest upon the character of citizenship, and that by such admiration of evil they prove themselves unfit for liberty. 21
The homely virtues of the household, the ordinary workaday virtues which make the woman a good housewife and housemother, which make the man a hard worker, a good husband and father, a good soldier at need, stand at the bottom of character. But of course many others must be added thereto if a state is to be not only free but great. Good citizenship is not good citizenship if exhibited only in the home. There remain the duties of the individual in relation to the state, and these duties are none too easy under the conditions which exist where the effort is made to carry on free government in a complex, industrial civilization. Perhaps the most important thing the ordinary citizen, and, above all, the leader of ordinary citizens, has to remember in political life is that he must not be a sheer doctrinaire. The closet philosopher, the refined and cultured individual who from his library tells how men ought to be governed under ideal conditions, is of no use in actual governmental work; and the one-sided fanatic, and still more the mob-leader, and the insincere man who to achieve power promises what by no possibility can be performed, are not merely useless but noxious. 22
The citizen must have high ideals, and yet he must be able to achieve them in practical fashion. No permanent good comes from aspirations so lofty that they have grown fantastic and have become impossible and indeed undesirable to realize. The impracticable visionary is far less often the guide and precursor than he is the embittered foe of the real reformer, of the man who, with stumblings and shortcomings, yet does in some shape, in practical fashion, give effect to the hopes and desires of those who strive for better things. Woe to the empty phrase-maker, to the empty idealist, who, instead of making ready the ground for the man of action, turns against him when he appears and hampers him as he does the work! Moreover, the preacher of ideals must remember how sorry and contemptible is the figure which he will cut, how great the damage that he will do, if he does not himself, in his own life, strive measurably to realize the ideals that he preaches for others. Let him remember also that the worth of the ideal must be largely determined by the success with which it can in practice be realized. We should abhor the so-called "practical" men whose practicality assumes the shape of that peculiar baseness which finds its expression in disbelief in morality and decency, in disregard of high standards of living and conduct. Such a creature is the worst enemy of the body politic. But only less desirable as a citizen is his nominal opponent and real ally, the man of fantastic vision who makes the impossible better forever the enemy of the possible good. 23
We can just as little afford to follow the doctrinaires of an extreme individualism as the doctrinaires of an extreme socialism. Individual initiative, so far from being discouraged, should be stimulated; and yet we should remember that, as society develops and grows more complex, we continually find that things which once it was desirable to leave to individual initiative can, under the changed conditions, be performed with better results by common effort. It is quite impossible, and equally undesirable, to draw in theory a hard-and-fast line which shall always divide the two sets of cases. This every one who is not cursed with the pride of the closet philosopher will see, if he will only take the trouble to think about some of our commonest phenomena. For instance, when people live on isolated farms or in little hamlets, each house can be left to attend to its own drainage and water supply; but the mere multiplication of families in a given area produces new problems which, because they differ in size, are found to differ not only in degree but in kind from the old; and the questions of drainage and water supply have to be considered from the common standpoint. It is not a matter for abstract dogmatizing to decide when this point is reached; it is a matter to be tested by practical experiment. Much of the discussion about socialism and individualism is entirely pointless, because of failure to agree on terminology. It is not good to be the slave of names. I am a strong individualist by personal habit, inheritance, and conviction; but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the state, the community, the citizens acting together, can do a number of things better than if they were left to individual action. The individualism which finds its expression in the abuse of physical force is checked very early in the growth of civilization, and we of to-day should in our turn strive to shackle or destroy that individualism which triumphs by greed and cunning, which exploits the weak by craft instead of ruling them by brutality. We ought to go with any man in the effort to bring about justice and the equality of opportunity, to turn the tool-user more and more into the tool-owner, to shift burdens so that they can be more equitably borne. The deadening effect on any race of the adoption of a logical and extreme socialistic system could not be overstated; it would spell sheer destruction; it would produce grosser wrong and outrage, fouler immorality, than any existing system. But this does not mean that we may not with great advantage adopt certain of the principles professed by some given set of men who happen to call themselves Socialists; to be afraid to do so would be to make a mark of weakness on our part. 24
But we should not take part in acting a lie any more than in telling a lie. We should not say that men are equal where they are not equal, nor proceed upon the assumption that there is an equality where it does not exist; but we should strive to bring about a measurable equality, at least to the extent of preventing the inequality which is due to force or fraud. Abraham Lincoln, a man of the plain people, blood of their blood and bone of their bone, who all his life toiled and wrought and suffered for them, and at the end died for them, who always strove to represent them, who would never tell an untruth to or for them, spoke of the doctrine of equality with his usual mixture of idealism and sound common sense. He said (I omit what was of merely local significance): 25
"I think the authors of the Declaration of Independence intended to include all men, but that they did not mean to declare all men equal in all respects. They did not mean to say all men were equal in color, size, intellect, moral development, or social capacity. They defined with tolerable distinctness in what they did consider all men created equal—equal in certain inalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. This they said, and this they meant. They did not mean to assert the obvious untruth that all were then actually enjoying that equality, or yet that they were about to confer it immediately upon them. They meant to set up a standard maxim for free society which should be familiar to all—constantly looked to, constantly labored for, and, even though never perfectly attained, constantly approximated, and thereby constantly spreading and deepening its influence, and augmenting the happiness and value of life to all people, everywhere." 26
We are bound in honor to refuse to listen to those men who would make us desist from the effort to do away with the inequality which means injustice; the inequality of right, of opportunity, of privilege. We are bound in honor to strive to bring ever nearer the day when, as far as is humanly possible, we shall be able to realize the ideal that each man shall have an equal opportunity to show the stuff that is in him by the way in which he renders service. There should, so far as possible, be equality of opportunity to render service; but just so long as there is inequality of service there should and must be inequality of reward. We may be sorry for the general, the painter, the artist, the worker in any profession or of any kind, whose misfortune rather than whose fault it is that he does his work ill. But the reward must go to the man who does his work well; for any other course is to create a new kind of privilege, the privilege of folly and weakness; and special privilege is injustice, whatever form it takes. 27
To say that the thriftless, the lazy, the vicious, the incapable, ought to have the reward given to those who are far-sighted, capable, and upright, is to say what is not true and can not be true. Let us try to level up, but let us beware of the evil of leveling down. If a man stumbles, it is a good thing to help him to his feet. Every one of us needs a helping hand now and then. But if a man lies down, it is a waste of time to try to carry him; and it is a very bad thing for every one if we make men feel that the same reward will come to those who shirk their work and to those who do it. 28
Let us, then, take into account the actual facts of life, and not be misled into following any proposal for achieving the millennium, for re-creating the golden age, until we have subjected it to hardheaded examination. On the other hand, it is foolish to reject a proposal merely because it is advanced by visionaries. If a given scheme is proposed, look at it on its merits, and, in considering it, disregard formulas. It does not matter in the least who proposes it, or why. If it seems good, try it. If it proves good, accept it; otherwise reject it. There are plenty of men calling themselves Socialists with whom, up to a certain point, it is quite possible to work. If the next step is one which both we and they wish to take, why of course take it, without any regard to the fact that our views as to the tenth step may differ. But, on the other hand, keep clearly in mind that, though it has been worth while to take one step, this does not in the least mean that it may not be highly disadvantageous to take the next. It is just as foolish to refuse all progress because people demanding it desire at some points to go to absurd extremes, as it would be to go to these absurd extremes simply because some of the measures advocated by the extremists were wise. 29
The good citizen will demand liberty for himself, and as a matter of pride he will see to it that others receive the liberty which he thus claims as his own. Probably the best test of true love of liberty in any country is the way in which minorities are treated in that country. Not only should there be complete liberty in matters of religion and opinion, but complete liberty for each man to lead his life as he desires, provided only that in so doing he does not wrong his neighbor. Persecution is bad because it is persecution, and without reference to which side happens at the moment to be the persecutor and which the persecuted. Class hatred is bad in just the same way, and without any regard to the individual who, at a given time, substitutes loyalty to a class for loyalty to the nation, or substitutes hatred of men because they happen to come in a certain social category, for judgment awarded them according to their conduct. Remember always that the same measure of condemnation should be extended to the arrogance which would look down upon or crush any man because he is poor and to the envy and hatred which would destroy a man because he is wealthy. The overbearing brutality of the man of wealth or power, and the envious and hateful malice directed against wealth or power, are really at root merely different manifestations of the same quality, merely the two sides of the same shield. The man who, if born to wealth and power, exploits and ruins his less fortunate brethren is at heart the same as the greedy and violent demagogue who excites those who have not property to plunder those who have. The gravest wrong upon his country is inflicted by that man, whatever his station, who seeks to make his countrymen divide primarily on the line that separates class from class, occupation from occupation, men of more wealth from men of less wealth, instead of remembering that the only safe standard is that which judges each man on his worth as a man, whether he be rich or poor, without regard to his profession or to his station in life. Such is the only true democratic test, the only test that can with propriety be applied in a republic. There have been many republics in the past, both in what we call antiquity and in what we call the Middle Ages. They fell, and the prime factor in their fall was the fact that the parties tended to divide along the line that separates wealth from poverty. It made no difference which side was successful; it made no difference whether the republic fell under the rule of an oligarchy or the rule of a mob. In either case, when once loyalty to a class had been substituted for loyalty to the republic, the end of the republic was at hand. There is no greater need to-day than the need to keep ever in mind the fact that the cleavage between right and wrong, between good citizenship and bad citizenship, runs at right angles to, and not parallel with, the lines of cleavage between class and class, between occupation and occupation. Ruin looks us in the face if we judge a man by his position instead of judging him by his conduct in that position. 30
In a republic, to be successful we must learn to combine intensity of conviction with a broad tolerance of difference of conviction. Wide differences of opinion in matters of religious, political, and social belief must exist if conscience and intellect alike are not to be stunted, if there is to be room for healthy growth. Bitter internecine hatreds, based on such differences, are signs, not of earnestness of belief, but of that fanaticism which, whether religious or anti-religious, democratic or anti-democratic, is itself but a manifestation of the gloomy bigotry which has been the chief factor in the downfall of so many, many nations. 31
Of one man in especial, beyond any one else, the citizens of a republic should beware, and that is of the man who appeals to them to support him on the ground that he is hostile to other citizens of the republic, that he will secure for those who elect him, in one shape or another, profit at the expense of other citizens of the republic. It makes no difference whether he appeals to class hatred or class interest, to religious or anti-religious prejudice. The man who makes such an appeal should always be presumed to make it for the sake of furthering his own interest. The very last thing that an intelligent and self-respecting member of a democratic community should do is to reward any public man because that public man says he will get the private citizen something to which this private citizen is not entitled, or will gratify some emotion or animosity which this private citizen ought not to possess. Let me illustrate this by one anecdote from my own experience. A number of years ago I was engaged in cattle-ranching on the great plains of the western United States. There were no fences. The cattle wandered free, the ownership of each being determined by the brand; the calves were branded with the brand of the cows they followed. If on the round-up an animal was passed by, the following year it would appear as an unbranded yearling, and was then called a maverick. By the custom of the country these mavericks were branded with the brand of the man on whose range they were found. One day I was riding the range with a newly hired cowboy, and we came upon a maverick. We roped and threw it; then we built a little fire, took out a cinch-ring, heated it at the fire; and the cowboy started to put on the brand. I said to him, "It is So-and-so's brand," naming the man on whose range we happened to be. He answered: "That's all right, boss; I know my business." In another moment I said to him: "Hold on, you are putting on my brand!" To which he answered: "That's all right; I always put on the boss's brand." I answered: "Oh, very well. Now you go straight back to the ranch and get what is owing to you; I don't need you any longer." He jumped up and said: "Why, what's the matter? I was putting on your brand." And I answered: "Yes, my friend, and if you will steal for me you will steal from me." 32
Now, the same principle which applies in private life applies also in public life. If a public man tries to get your vote by saying that he will do something wrong in your interest, you can be absolutely certain that if ever it becomes worth his while he will do something wrong against your interest. 33
So much for the citizenship of the individual in his relations to his family, to his neighbor, to the state. There remain duties of citizenship which the state, the aggregation of all the individuals, owes in connection with other states, with other nations. Let me say at once that I am no advocate of a foolish cosmopolitanism. I believe that a man must be a good patriot before he can be, and as the only possible way of being, a good citizen of the world. Experience teaches us that the average man who protests that his international feeling swamps his national feeling, that he does not care for his country because he cares so much for mankind, in actual practice proves himself the foe of mankind; that the man who says that he does not care to be a citizen of any one country, because he is a citizen of the world, is in very fact usually an exceedingly undesirable citizen of whatever corner of the world he happens at the moment to be in. In the dim future all moral needs and moral standards may change; but at present, if a man can view his own country and all other countries from the same level with tepid indifference, it is wise to distrust him, just as it is wise to distrust the man who can take the same dispassionate view of his wife and his mother. However broad and deep a man's sympathies, however intense his activities, he need have no fear that they will be cramped by love of his native land. 34
Now, this does not mean in the least that a man should not wish to do good outside of his native land. On the contrary, just as I think that the man who loves his family is more apt to be a good neighbor than the man who does not, so I think that the most useful member of the family of nations is normally a strongly patriotic nation. So far from patriotism being inconsistent with a proper regard for the rights of other nations, I hold that the true patriot, who is as jealous of the national honor as a gentleman is of his own honor, will be careful to see that the nation neither inflicts nor suffers wrong, just as a gentleman scorns equally to wrong others or to suffer others to wrong him. I do not for one moment admit that political morality is different from private morality, that a promise made on the stump differs from a promise made in private life. I do not for one moment admit that a man should act deceitfully as a public servant in his dealings with other nations, any more than that he should act deceitfully in his dealings as a private citizen with other private citizens. I do not for one moment admit that a nation should treat other nations in a different spirit from that in which an honorable man would treat other men. 35
In practically applying this principle to the two sets of cases there is, of course, a great practical difference to be taken into account. We speak of international law; but international law is something wholly different from private or municipal law, and the capital difference is that there is a sanction for the one and no sanction for the other; that there is an outside force which compels individuals to obey the one, while there is no such outside force to compel obedience as regards the other. International law will, I believe, as the generations pass, grow stronger and stronger until in some way or other there develops the power to make it respected. But as yet it is only in the first formative period. As yet, as a rule, each nation is of necessity obliged to judge for itself in matters of vital importance between it and its neighbors, and actions must of necessity, where this is the case, be different from what they are where, as among private citizens, there is an outside force whose action is all-powerful and must be invoked in any crisis of importance. It is the duty of wise statesmen, gifted with the power of looking ahead, to try to encourage and build up every movement which will substitute or tend to substitute some other agency for force in the settlement of international disputes. It is the duty of every honest statesman to try to guide the nation so that it shall not wrong any other nation. But as yet the great civilized peoples, if they are to be true to themselves and to the cause of humanity and civilization, must keep ever in mind that in the last resort they must possess both the will and the power to resent wrong-doing from others. The men who sanely believe in a lofty morality preach righteousness; but they do not preach weakness, whether among private citizens or among nations. We believe that our ideals should be high, but not so high as to make it impossible measurably to realize them. We sincerely and earnestly believe in peace; but if peace and justice conflict, we scorn the man who would not stand for justice though the whole world came in arms against him. 36
And now, my hosts, a word in parting. You and I belong to the only two republics among the great powers of the world. The ancient friendship between France and the United States has been, on the whole, a sincere and disinterested friendship. A calamity to you would be a sorrow to us. But it would be more than that. In the seething turmoil of the history of humanity certain nations stand out as possessing a peculiar power or charm, some special gift of beauty or wisdom or strength, which puts them among the immortals, which makes them rank forever with the leaders of mankind. France is one of these nations. For her to sink would be a loss to all the world. There are certain lessons of brilliance and of generous gallantry that she can teach better than any of her sister nations. When the French peasantry sang of Malbrook, it was to tell how the soul of this warrior-foe took flight upward through the laurels he had won. Nearly seven centuries ago, Froissart, writing of a time of dire disaster, said that the realm of France was never so stricken that there were not left men who would valiantly fight for it. You have had a great past. I believe that you will have a great future. Long may you carry yourselves proudly as citizens of a nation which bears a leading part in the teaching and uplifting of mankind. 37
|Criteria |4 |3 |2 |1 |
| |Excellent |Proficient |Competent |Less than Competent |
| |The essay contains a logically developed |The essay contains an introduction, body, and |The essay contains an introduction, body, |The essay only addresses a few of the |
|Organization |introduction, body, and conclusion |conclusion. |and conclusion. Paragraphs lack effective |comparison topics. |
| |Paragraphs have smooth, effective and |Most paragraphs have effective transitions. |transitions. |Paragraphs do not have transitions. |
| |varied transitions. | | | |
| |The essay effectively argues a position on|The essay argues a position on a specific |The essay attempts to argue a position on a |The essay altogether fails to argue a |
| |a specific controversial topic and |controversial topic and contains detailed, and |specific topic and contains some vague pro |position on a specific topic with detailed|
|Content |contains effective, detailed, and relevant|relevant pro arguments Con position is |and con arguments. |and relevant con and pro arguments. |
| |pro arguments. Con position is |acknowledged. | | |
| |acknowledged. | | | |
| |The essay provides a meaningful and |The essay provides a thesis, which clearly states |The essay provides an unclear thesis, which |The essay provides a weak, unclear thesis,|
| |thoughtful thesis, which clearly states |the writer’s opinion and position on the topic to |states the writer’s opinion or position on |which might mention the writer’s opinion |
|Thesis |the writer’s opinion and position on the |be discussed. |the topic to be discussed. |or position on the topic to be discussed. |
| |topic to be discussed. | | | |
| |The body paragraphs logically and |The body paragraphs logically supports the thesis |The body paragraphs may support the thesis |The body paragraphs fail to support main |
|Support |effectively support the thesis and main |and main arguments with specific details and some |and main arguments with limited, if any, |ideas/arguments with details and/or |
| |arguments with specific and convincing |examples. |details and/or examples. |examples. |
| |details and examples. | | | |
| |The essay contains varied sentence types |The essay contains varied sentence types and uses |The essay contains few types of sentences, |The essay contains no sentence variety. |
|Sentence Variety |and uses precise, appropriate language. |appropriate language. |and uses basic, predictable language. | |
| |The writer demonstrates a clear sense of |The writer demonstrates a general sense of audience|The writer demonstrates little sense of |The writer demonstrates no sense of |
|Audience and |audience and uses the appropriate |and uses some vocabulary for that audience. |audience and does not adjust the vocabulary |audience, uses limited vocabulary, and |
|Appropriate Vocabulary|vocabulary for that audience. No over use |Occasional use of expressions such as “like,” “a |for an audience. Frequent use of expressions|makes no adjustments. Overuse of |
| |of expressions such as “like,” “a lot,” |lot,” and “well.” |such as “like,” “a lot,” and “well.” |expressions such as “like,” “a lot,” and |
| |and “well.” | | |“well.” |
| |The essay contains few, if any, errors in |The essay contains some errors in the conventions |The essay contains numerous errors in the |The essay contains serious errors in the |
|Standard English Usage|the conventions of the English language. |of the English language. (Errors do not interfere |conventions of the English language. (Errors|conventions of the English language. |
| | |with the reader’s understanding of the essay.) |may interfere with the reader’s |(Errors interfere with the reader’s |
| | | |understanding of the paper.) |understanding of the paper.) |
Oral Interview Rubric
|10% |1 |2 | 3 4 | 5 |Total |
|Organization and Fluency |Confusing sequence; frequent pauses;|Some topic shifts; long, awkward |Appropriate information; logical |Appropriate communication; logical and | |
| |sentences left unfinished; drifts |pauses; hard time rephrasing; |sequence; few pauses; slight stumbling;|interesting sequence; natural speech; | |
| |from topic |uncomfortable communication |understandable communication |natural pauses; clear communication | |
|40% |9 10 11 |12 13 14 |15 16 17 |18 19 20 |Total |
|Vocabulary |No grasp of vocabulary; limited |Uncomfortable use of vocabulary; |Uses appropriate vocabulary; not much |Uses full vocabulary; much elaboration | |
| |grasp; ineffective wording |very basic |elaboration | | |
|40% |9 10 11 |12 13 14 |15 16 17 |18 19 20 |Total |
|Sentence Structure/Grammar |No grasp of sentence structure; use |Many simple sentences; some grammar |Good use of sentence structures; some |Good variety of sentence structures; | |
| |of grammar poor; limited |problems |variety; few grammar problems; not much|control of grammar, elaboration | |
| | | |elaboration | | |
|10% | 1 | 2 | 3 4 | 5 |Total |
|Pronunciation and Elocution |Mumbling; incorrect pronunciation; |Low voice; incorrect pronunciation; |Clear voice; proper inflection; |Clear voice; correct and precise | |
| |difficult to understand; not loud |difficult to follow; monotone |generally understandable |inflection and pronunciation; | |
| |enough | | |completely understandable | |
| | | | |Total Points | |
| | | | | |/50 |
| | | | | | |
.
| | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
|Format/Presentation |Neatly |Neat, Q & A separated,|Could be neater, may be |Messy; incomplete; no |
| |word-processed; Q & A|heading, spacing |missing parts; Q & A not |separation for Q & A |
| |clearly separated; | |separated adequately | |
| |correct heading; | | | |
| |single spaced | | | |
|Focus/Relevance |Answers focused on |Answers mainly |Drifting answers; borderline|Irrelevant answers; |
| |questions; |focused; generally |appropriateness; interesting|unfocused answers, |
| |appropriate answers; |appropriate; some |answers but not full |inappropriate answers; |
| |interesting, relevant|interesting answers | |brief |
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|Spelling/Mechanics/Grammar |No errors; minor |Some errors in |Needs more proofreading; |Many errors; confusion |
| |errors |spelling; meaning |some confusion | |
| | |still clear | | |
|Answer Quality |Full answers, rich |Adequate answers |Some lack of connection of |Brief |
| |with detail | |answer to question | |
|Length/Effort |Three or more pages; |Three or more pages; |Close to three pages. |Little effort; too |
| |professional |good appearance | |short |
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No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. If a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend's or of thine own were: any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee.
~ John Donne, Meditation 17
|Choice of Problem |Inappropriate |Questionable |Appropriate |Defined |Specific | |
|Audience Identification |No identification |Vague |Identified |Identified and |Identified, detailed| |
| | | | |detailed |well | |
|Problem Presentation |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with appropriate | |
| | | | | |commentary | |
|Causes of Problem |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with commentary | |
|Effects of Problem |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with commentary | |
|Best Solution |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with commentary | |
|Steps |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with commentary | |
|Reasons to support |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
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|Alternate acknowledgment |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
| | | | |detail |with commentary | |
|Consequence of failure |Unclear |Sketchy |Presented |Presented in |Presented in detail | |
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|Grammar |10 or more errors |9 or fewer errors |7 or fewer errors |5 or fewer |3 or fewer errors | |
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|Mechanics |10 or more errors |9 or fewer errors |7 or fewer errors |5 or fewer |3 or fewer errors | |
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|Spelling |10 or more errors |9 or fewer errors |7 or fewer errors |5 or fewer |3 or fewer errors | |
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Name of Essay______________________________________________________________
Reviewer___________________________________________
Three Strengths
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Three Suggestions for Improvement
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Three Questions
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|Opinion |Unclear; poorly stated |Vague; lacks precision |Adequately stated |Stated and developed |Well-developed and |
| | | | | |clear |
|Evidence |Little or no support |Some support |Adequate support |More than adequate |Well-supported |
| | | | |support | |
| Significance |Little or no value |Some value or |Worth of opinion stated|Statement of importance|Significance |
| |drawn |importance drawn | |and value developed |well-developed |
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Opinion Points_______________
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Total Points__________________
The Lottery
by Shirley Jackson
The morning of June 27th was clear and sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-summer day; the flowers were blossoming profusely and the grass was richly green. The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 20th, but in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o’clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner.
The children assembled first, of course. School was recently over for the summer, and the feeling of liberty sat uneasily on most of them; they tended to gather together quietly for a while before they broke into boisterous play, and their talk was still of the classroom and the teacher, of books and reprimands. Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example, selecting the smoothest and roundest stones; Bobby and Harry Jones and Dickie Delacroix – the villagers pronounced this name "Dellacroy" – eventually made a great pile of stones in one corner of the square and guarded it against the raids of the other boys. The girls stood aside, talking among themselves, looking over their shoulders at the boys, and the very small children rolled in the dust or clung to the hands of their older brothers or sisters.
Soon the men began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes. They stood together, away from the pile of stones in the corner, and their jokes were quiet and they smiled rather than laughed. The women, wearing faded house dresses and sweaters, came shortly after their men folk. They greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip as they went to join their husbands. Soon the women, standing by their husbands, began to call to their children, and the children came reluctantly, having to be called four or five times. Bobby Martin ducked under his mother’s grasping hand and ran, laughing, back to the pile of stones. His father spoke up sharply, and Bobby came quickly and took his place between his father and his oldest brother.
The lottery was conducted – as were the square dances, the teen club, the Halloween program – by Mr. Summers, who had time and energy to devote to civic activities. He was a round-faced, jovial man and he ran the coal business, and people were sorry for him, because he had no children and his wife was a scold. When he arrived in the square, carrying the black wooden box, there was a murmur of conversation among the villagers, and he waved and called, "Little late today, folks." The postmaster, Mr. Graves, followed him, carrying a three-legged stool, and the stool was put in the center of the square and Mr. Summers set the black box down on it. The villagers kept their distance, leaving a space between themselves and the stool, and when Mr. Summers said, "Some of you fellows want to give me a hand?" there was a hesitation before two men, Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter, came forward to hold the box steady on the stool while Mr. Summers stirred up the papers inside it.
The original paraphernalia for the lottery had been lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born. Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. There was a story that the present box had been made with some pieces of the box that had preceded it, the one that had been constructed when the first people settled down to make a village here. Every year, after the lottery, Mr. Summers began talking again about a new box, but every year the subject was allowed to fade off without anything’s being done. The black box grew shabbier each year: by now it was no longer completely black but splintered badly along one side to show the original wood color, and in some places faded or stained.
Mr. Martin and his oldest son, Baxter, held the black box securely on the stool until Mr. Summers had stirred the papers thoroughly with his hand. Because so much of the ritual had been forgotten or discarded, Mr. Summers had been successful in having slips of paper substituted for the chips of wood that had been used for generations. Chips of wood, Mr. Summers had argued, had been all very well when the village was tiny, but now that the population was more than three hundred and likely to keep on growing, it was necessary to use something that would fit more easily into the black box. The night before the lottery, Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves made up the slips of paper and put them in the box, and it was then taken to the safe of Mr. Summers’ coal company and locked up until Mr. Summers was ready to take it to the square next morning. The rest of the year, the box was put away, sometimes one place, sometimes another; it had spent one year in Mr. Graves’s barn and another year underfoot in the post office, and sometimes it was set on a shelf in the Martin grocery and left there.
There was a great deal of fussing to be done before Mr. Summers declared the lottery open. There were the lists to make up – of heads of families, heads of households in each family, members of each household in each family. There was the proper swearing-in of Mr. Summers by the postmaster, as the official of the lottery; at one time, some people remembered, there had been a recital of some sort, performed by the official of the lottery, a perfunctory, tuneless chant that had been rattled off duly each year; some people believed that the official of the lottery used to stand just so when he said or sang it, others believed that he was supposed to walk among the people, but years and years ago this part of the ritual had been allowed to lapse. There had been, also, a ritual salute, which the official of the lottery had had to use in addressing each person who came up to draw from the box, but this also had changed with time, until now it was felt necessary only for the official to speak to each person approaching. Mr. Summers was very good at all this; in his clean white shirt and blue jeans, with one hand resting carelessly on the black box, he seemed very proper and important as he talked interminably to Mr. Graves and the Martins.
Just as Mr. Summers finally left off talking and turned to the assembled villagers, Mrs. Hutchinson came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place in the back of the crowd. "Clean forgot what day it was," she said to Mrs. Delacroix, who stood next to her, and they both laughed softly. "Thought my old man was out back stacking wood," Mrs. Hutchinson went on, "and then I looked out the window and the kids was gone, and then I remembered it was the twenty-seventh and came a-running." She dried her hands on her apron, and Mrs. Delacroix said, "You’re in time, though. They’re still talking away up there."
Mrs. Hutchinson craned her neck to see through the crowd and found her husband and children standing near the front. She tapped Mrs. Delacroix on the arm as a farewell and began to make her way through the crowd. The people separated good-humoredly to let her through; two or three people said, in voices just loud enough to be heard across the crowd, "Here comes your Missus, Hutchinson," and "Bill, she made it after all." Mrs. Hutchinson reached her husband, and Mr. Summers, who had been waiting, said cheerfully. "Thought we were going to have to get on without you, Tessie," Mrs. Hutchinson said, grinning, "Wouldn’t have me leave m’ dishes in the sink, now, would you. Joe?," and soft laughter ran through the crowd as the people stirred back into position after Mrs. Hutchinson’s arrival.
"Well, now,” Mr. Summers said soberly, "guess we better get started, get this over with, so’s we can go back to work. Anybody ain’t here?"
"Dunbar," several people said. "Dunbar. Dunbar."
Mr. Summers consulted his list. "Clyde Dunbar,” he said. "That’s right. He’s broke his leg, hasn’t he? Who’s drawing for him?"
"Me. I guess," a woman said, and Mr. Summers turned to look at her. "Wife draws for her husband." Mr. Summers said, "Don’t you have a grown boy to do it for you, Janey?" Although Mr. Summers and everyone else in the village knew the answer perfectly well, it was the business of the official of the lottery to ask such questions formally. Mr. Summers waited with an expression of polite interest while Mrs. Dunbar answered.
"Horace’s not but sixteen yet,” Mrs. Dunbar said regretfully. "Guess I gotta fill in for the old man this year."
"Right," Sr. Summers said. He made a note on the list he was holding. Then he asked, "Watson boy drawing this year?"
A tall boy in the crowd raised his hand. "Here," he said. “I’m drawing for my mother and me." He blinked his eyes nervously and ducked his head as several voices in the crowd said things like "Good fellow, Jack." and "Glad to see your mother’s got a man to do it."
"Well," Mr. Summers said, "guess that’s everyone. Old Man Warner make it?"
"Here," a voice said, and Mr. Summers nodded.
A sudden hush fell on the crowd as Mr. Summers cleared his throat and looked at the list. "All ready?" he called. "Now, I’ll read the names – heads of families first – and the men come up and take a paper out of the box. Keep the paper folded in your hand without looking at it until everyone has had a turn. Everything clear?"
The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around. Then Mr. Summers raised one hand high and said, "Adams." A man disengaged himself from the crowd and came forward. "Hi, Steve," Mr. Summers said, and Mr. Adams said, "Hi, Joe." They grinned at one another humorlessly and nervously. Then Mr. Adams reached into the black box and took out a folded paper. He held it firmly by one corner as he turned and went hastily back to his place in the crowd, where he stood a little apart from his family, not looking down at his hand.
“Allen,” Mr. Summers said. "Anderson.... Bentham."
"Seems like there’s no time at all between lotteries any more." Mrs. Delacroix said to Mrs. Graves in the back row.
"Seems like we got through with the last one only last week."
"Time sure goes fast,” Mrs. Graves said.
"Clark.... Delacroix"
"There goes my old man,” Mrs. Delacroix said. She held her breath while her husband went forward.
"Dunbar," Mr. Summers said, and Mrs. Dunbar went steadily to the box while one of the women said. "Go on, Janey," and another said, "There she goes."
"We’re next,” Mrs. Graves said. She watched while Mr. Graves came around from the side of the box, greeted Mr. Summers gravely and selected a slip of paper from the box. By now, all through the crowd there were men holding the small folded papers in their large hand, turning them over and over nervously Mrs. Dunbar and her two sons stood together, Mrs. Dunbar holding the slip of paper.
"Harburt.... Hutchinson."
"Get up there, Bill," Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed.
"Jones."
"They do say," Mr. Adams said to Old Man Warner, who stood next to him, "that over in the north village they’re talking of giving up the lottery."
Old Man Warner snorted. "Pack of crazy fools," he said. "Listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. Next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work anymore, live that way for a while. Used to be a saying about ‘Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.’ First thing you know, we’d all be eating stewed chickweed and acorns. There’s always been a lottery," he added petulantly. "Bad enough to see young Joe Summers up there joking with everybody."
"Some places have already quit lotteries,” Mrs. Adams said.
"Nothing but trouble in that," Old Man Warner said stoutly. "Pack of young fools."
"Martin." And Bobby Martin watched his father go forward. "Overdyke.... Percy."
"I wish they’d hurry," Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son. "I wish they’d hurry."
"They’re almost through," her son said.
"You get ready to run tell Dad," Mrs. Dunbar said.
Mr. Summers called his own name and then stepped forward precisely and selected a slip from the box. Then he called, "Warner."
"Seventy-seventh year I been in the lottery," Old Man Warner said as he went through the crowd. "Seventy-seventh time."
"Watson" The tall boy came awkwardly through the crowd. Someone said, "Don’t be nervous, Jack," and Mr. Summers said, "Take your time, son."
"Zanini."
After that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until Mr. Summers, holding his slip of paper in the air, said, "All right, fellows." For a minute, no one moved, and then all the slips of paper were opened. Suddenly, all the women began to speak at once, saying, "Who is it?," "Who’s got it?," "Is it the Dunbars?," "Is it the Watsons?" Then the voices began to say, "It`s Hutchinson. It`s Bill," "Bill Hutchinson’s got it."
"Go tell your father," Mrs. Dunbar said to her older son.
People began to look around to see the Hutchinsons. Bill Hutchinson was standing quiet, staring down at the paper in his hand. Suddenly, Tessie Hutchinson shouted to Mr. Summers. "You didn’t give him time enough to take any paper he wanted. I saw you. It wasn’t fair!"
"Be a good sport, Tessie." Mrs. Delacroix called, and Mrs. Graves said, "All of us took the same chance."
"Shut up, Tessie," Bill Hutchinson said.
"Well, everyone," Mr. Summers said, "that was done pretty fast, and now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done in time." He consulted his next list. "Bill," he said, "you draw for the Hutchinson family. You got any other households in the Hutchinsons?"
"There’s Don and Eva," Mrs. Hutchinson yelled. "Make them take their chance!"
"Daughters draw with their husbands’ families, Tessie," Mr. Summers said gently. "You know that as well as anyone else."
"It wasn’t fair," Tessie said.
"I guess not, Joe,” Bill Hutchinson said regretfully. "My daughter draws with her husband’s family; that’s only fair. And I’ve got no other family except the kids."
"Then, as far as drawing for families is concerned, it’s you," Mr. Summers said in explanation, "and as far as drawing for households is concerned, that’s you, too. Right?"
"Right," Bill Hutchinson said.
"How many kids, Bill?" Mr. Summers asked formally.
"Three," Bill Hutchinson said.
"There’s Bill, Jr., and Nancy, and little Dave. And Tessie and me."
"All right, then," Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you got their tickets back?"
Mr. Graves nodded and held up the slips of paper. "Put them in the box, then," Mr. Summers directed. "Take Bill’s and put it in."
"I think we ought to start over," Mrs. Hutchinson said, as quietly as she could. "I tell you it wasn’t fair. You didn’t give him time enough to choose. Everybody saw that."
Mr. Graves had selected the five slips and put them in the box. and he dropped all the papers but those onto the ground. where the breeze caught them and lifted them off.
"Listen, everybody," Mrs. Hutchinson was saying to the people around her.
"Ready, Bill?" Mr. Summers asked, and Bill Hutchinson, with one quick glance around at his wife and children, nodded.
"Remember," Mr. Summers said, "take the slips and keep them folded until each person has taken one. Harry, you help little Dave." Mr. Graves took the hand of the little boy, who came willingly with him up to the box. "Take a paper out of the box, Davy,” Mr. Summers said. Davy put his hand into the box and laughed. "Take just one paper,” Mr. Summers said. "Harry, you hold it for him." Mr. Graves took the child’s hand and removed the folded paper from the tight fist and held it while little Dave stood next to him and looked up at him wonderingly.
"Nancy next," Mr. Summers said. Nancy was twelve, and her school friends breathed heavily as she went forward switching her skirt, and took a slip daintily from the box "Bill, Jr.," Mr. Summers said, and Billy, his face red and his feet overlarge, near knocked the box over as he got a paper out. "Tessie," Mr. Summers said. She hesitated for a minute, looking around defiantly, and then set her lips and went up to the box. She snatched a paper out and held it behind her.
"Bill," Mr. Summers said, and Bill Hutchinson reached into the box and felt around, bringing his hand out at last with the slip of paper in it.
The crowd was quiet. A girl whispered, "I hope it’s not Nancy," and the sound of the whisper reached the edges of the crowd.
"It’s not the way it used to be,” Old Man Warner said clearly. "People ain’t the way they used to be."
"All right," Mr. Summers said. "Open the papers. Harry, you open little Dave’s."
Mr. Graves opened the slip of paper and there was a general sigh through the crowd as he held it up and everyone could see that it was blank. Nancy and Bill, Jr. opened theirs at the same time, and both beamed and laughed, turning around to the crowd and holding their slips of paper above their heads.
"Tessie," Mr. Summers said. There was a pause, and then Mr. Summers looked at Bill Hutchinson, and Bill unfolded his paper and showed it. It was blank.
"It’s Tessie," Mr. Summers said, and his voice was hushed. "Show us her paper. Bill."
Bill Hutchinson went over to his wife and forced the slip of paper out of her hand. It had a black spot on it, the black spot Mr. Summers had made the night before with the heavy pencil in the coal company office. Bill Hutchinson held it up, and there was a stir in the crowd.
"All right, folks,” Mr. Summers said. "Let’s finish quickly."
Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones. The pile of stones the boys had made earlier was ready; there were stones on the ground with the blowing scraps of paper that had come out of the box Delacroix selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands and turned to Mrs. Dunbar. "Come on," she said. "Hurry up."
Mr. Dunbar had small stones in both hands, and she said, gasping for breath, "I can’t run at all. You’ll have to go ahead and I’ll catch up with you."
The children had stones already. And someone gave little Davy Hutchinson few pebbles.
Tessie Hutchinson was in the center of a cleared space by now, and she held her hands out desperately as the villagers moved in on her. "It isn’t fair," she said. A stone hit her on the side of the head. Old Man Warner was saying, "Come on, come on, everyone." Steve Adams was in the front of the crowd of villagers, with Mrs. Graves beside him.
"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right," Mrs. Hutchinson screamed, and then they were upon her.
For each statement below, write true or false.
• If presented with a viable invitation to leave home, you would take it.
• When you leave your home, you will miss few if any objects there.
• When you leave home, the occasion will crystallize several of your memories there.
• Leaving home will cause you to be nostalgic.
• Leaving home will be easy.
• I will not hesitate to leave home.
Responses:
Eveline by James Joyce
SHE sat at the window watching the evening invade the avenue. Her head was leaned against the window curtains and in her nostrils was the odour of dusty cretonne. She was tired.
Few people passed. The man out of the last house passed on his way home; she heard his footsteps clacking along the concrete pavement and afterwards crunching on the cinder path before the new red houses. One time there used to be a field there in which they used to play every evening with other people's children. Then a man from Belfast bought the field and built houses in it -- not like their little brown houses but bright brick houses with shining roofs. The children of the avenue used to play together in that field -- the Devines, the Waters, the Dunns, little Keogh the cripple, she and her brothers and sisters. Ernest, however, never played: he was too grown up. Her father used often to hunt them in out of the field with his blackthorn stick; but usually little Keogh used to keep nix and call out when he saw her father coming. Still they seemed to have been rather happy then. Her father was not so bad then; and besides, her mother was alive. That was a long time ago; she and her brothers and sisters were all grown up her mother was dead. Tizzie Dunn was dead, too, and the Waters had gone back to England. Everything changes. Now she was going to go away like the others, to leave her home.
Home! She looked round the room, reviewing all its familiar objects which she had dusted once a week for so many years, wondering where on earth all the dust came from. Perhaps she would never see again those familiar objects from which she had never dreamed of being divided. And yet during all those years she had never found out the name of the priest whose yellowing photograph hung on the wall above the broken harmonium beside the coloured print of the promises made to Blessed Margaret Mary Alacoque. He had been a school friend of her father. Whenever he showed the photograph to a visitor her father used to pass it with a casual word:
"He is in Melbourne now."
She had consented to go away, to leave her home. Was that wise? She tried to weigh each side of the question. In her home anyway she had shelter and food; she had those whom she had known all her life about her. O course she had to work hard, both in the house and at business. What would they say of her in the Stores when they found out that she had run away with a fellow? Say she was a fool, perhaps; and her place would be filled up by advertisement. Miss Gavan would be glad. She had always had an edge on her, especially whenever there were people listening.
"Miss Hill, don't you see these ladies are waiting?"
"Look lively, Miss Hill, please."
She would not cry many tears at leaving the Stores.
But in her new home, in a distant unknown country, it would not be like that. Then she would be married -- she, Eveline. People would treat her with respect then. She would not be treated as her mother had been. Even now, though she was over nineteen, she sometimes felt herself in danger of her father's violence. She knew it was that that had given her the palpitations. When they were growing up he had never gone for her like he used to go for Harry and Ernest, because she was a girl but latterly he had begun to threaten her and say what he would do to her only for her dead mother's sake. And no she had nobody to protect her. Ernest was dead and Harry, who was in the church decorating business, was nearly always down somewhere in the country. Besides, the invariable squabble for money on Saturday nights had begun to weary her unspeakably. She always gave her entire wages -- seven shillings -- and Harry always sent up what he could but the trouble was to get any money from her father. He said she used to squander the money, that she had no head, that he wasn't going to give her his hard-earned money to throw about the streets, and much more, for he was usually fairly bad on Saturday night. In the end he would give her the money and ask her had she any intention of buying Sunday's dinner. Then she had to rush out as quickly as she could and do her marketing, holding her black leather purse tightly in her hand as she elbowed her way through the crowds and returning home late under her load of provisions. She had hard work to keep the house together and to see that the two young children who had been left to hr charge went to school regularly and got their meals regularly. It was hard work -- a hard life -- but now that she was about to leave it she did not find it a wholly undesirable life.
She was about to explore another life with Frank. Frank was very kind, manly, open-hearted. She was to go away with him by the night-boat to be his wife and to live with him in Buenos Ayres where he had a home waiting for her. How well she remembered the first time she had seen him; he was lodging in a house on the main road where she used to visit. It seemed a few weeks ago. He was standing at the gate, his peaked cap pushed back on his head and his hair tumbled forward over a face of bronze. Then they had come to know each other. He used to meet her outside the Stores every evening and see her home. He took her to see The Bohemian Girl and she felt elated as she sat in an unaccustomed part of the theatre with him. He was awfully fond of music and sang a little. People knew that they were courting and, when he sang about the lass that loves a sailor, she always felt pleasantly confused. He used to call her Poppens out of fun. First of all it had been an excitement for her to have a fellow and then she had begun to like him. He had tales of distant countries. He had started as a deck boy at a pound a month on a ship of the Allan Line going out to Canada. He told her the names of the ships he had been on and the names of the different services. He had sailed through the Straits of Magellan and he told her stories of the terrible Patagonians. He had fallen on his feet in Buenos Ayres, he said, and had come over to the old country just for a holiday. Of course, her father had found out the affair and had forbidden her to have anything to say to him.
"I know these sailor chaps," he said.
One day he had quarrelled with Frank and after that she had to meet her lover secretly.
The evening deepened in the avenue. The white of two letters in her lap grew indistinct. One was to Harry; the other was to her father. Ernest had been her favourite but she liked Harry too. Her father was becoming old lately, she noticed; he would miss her. Sometimes he could be very nice. Not long before, when she had been laid up for a day, he had read her out a ghost story and made toast for her at the fire. Another day, when their mother was alive, they had all gone for a picnic to the Hill of Howth. She remembered her father putting on her mother’s bonnet to make the children laugh.
Her time was running out but she continued to sit by the window, leaning her head against the window curtain, inhaling the odour of dusty cretonne. Down far in the avenue she could hear a street organ playing. She knew the air Strange that it should come that very night to remind her of the promise to her mother, her promise to keep the home together as long as she could. She remembered the last night of her mother's illness; she was again in the close dark room at the other side of the hall and outside she heard a melancholy air of Italy. The organ-player had been ordered to go away and given sixpence. She remembered her father strutting back into the sickroom saying:
"Damned Italians! coming over here!"
As she mused the pitiful vision of her mother's life laid its spell on the very quick of her being -- that life of commonplace sacrifices closing in final craziness. She trembled as she heard again her mother's voice saying constantly with foolish insistence:
"Derevaun Seraun! Derevaun Seraun!"
She stood up in a sudden impulse of terror. Escape! She must escape! Frank would save her. He would give her life, perhaps love, too. But she wanted to live. Why should she be unhappy? She had a right to happiness. Frank would take her in his arms, fold her in his arms. He would save her.
She stood among the swaying crowd in the station at the North Wall. He held her hand and she knew that he was speaking to her, saying something about the passage over and over again. The station was full of soldiers with brown baggage. Through the wide doors of the sheds she caught a glimpse of the black mass of the boat, lying in beside the quay wall, with illumined portholes. She answered nothing. She felt her cheek pale and cold and, out of a maze of distress, she prayed to God to direct her, to show her what was her duty. The boat blew a long mournful whistle into the mist. If she went, tomorrow she would be on the sea with Frank, steaming towards Buenos Ayres. Their passage had been booked. Could she still draw back after all he had done for her? Her distress awoke a nausea in her body and she kept moving her lips in silent fervent prayer.
A bell clanged upon her heart. She felt him seize her hand:
"Come!"
All the seas of the world tumbled about her heart. He was drawing her into them: he would drown her. She gripped with both hands at the iron railing.
"Come!"
No! No! No! It was impossible. Her hands clutched the iron in frenzy. Amid the seas she sent a cry of anguish.
"Eveline! Evvy!"
He rushed beyond the barrier and called to her to follow. He was shouted at to go on but he still called to her. She set her white face to him, passive, like a helpless animal. Her eyes gave him no sign of love or farewell or recognition.
by H. H. Munro
Jocantha Bessbury was in the mood to be serenely and graciously happy. Her world was a pleasant place, and it was wearing one of its pleasantest aspects. Gregory had managed to get home for a hurried lunch and a smoke afterwards in the little snuggery; the lunch had been a good one, and there was just time to do justice to the coffee and cigarettes. Both were excellent in their way, and Gregory was, in his way, an excellent husband. Jocantha rather suspected herself of making him a very charming wife, and more than suspected herself of having a first-rate dressmaker.
"I don't suppose a more thoroughly contented personality is to be found in all Chelsea," observed Jocantha in allusion to herself; "except perhaps Attab," she continued, glancing towards the large tabby-marked cat that lay in considerable ease in a corner of the divan. "He lies there, purring and dreaming, shifting his limbs now and then in an ecstasy of cushioned comfort. He seems the incarnation of everything soft and silky and velvety, without a sharp edge in his composition, a dreamer whose philosophy is sleep and let sleep; and then, as evening draws on, he goes out into the garden with a red glint in his eyes and slays a drowsy sparrow."
"As every pair of sparrows hatches out ten or more young ones in the year, while their food supply remains stationary, it is just as well that the Attabs of the community should have that idea of how to pass an amusing afternoon," said Gregory. Having delivered himself of this sage comment he lit another cigarette, bade Jocantha a playfully affectionate good-bye, and departed into the outer world.
"Remember, dinner's a wee bit earlier to-night, as we're going to the Haymarket," she called after him.
Left to herself, Jocantha continued the process of looking at her life with placid, introspective eyes. If she had not everything she wanted in this world, at least she was very well pleased with what she had got. She was very well pleased, for instance, with the snuggery, which contrived somehow to be cosy and dainty and expensive all at once. The porcelain was rare and beautiful, the Chinese enamels took on wonderful tints in the firelight, the rugs and hangings led the eye through sumptuous harmonies of colouring. It was a room in which one might have suitably entertained an ambassador or an archbishop, but it was also a room in which one could cut out pictures for a scrap-book without feeling that one was scandalising the deities of the place with one's litter. And as with the snuggery, so with the rest of the house, and as with the house, so with the other departments of Jocantha's life; she really had good reason for being one of the most contented women in Chelsea.
From being in a mood of simmering satisfaction with her lot she passed to the phase of being generously commiserating for those thousands around her whose lives and circumstances were dull, cheap, pleasureless, and empty. Work girls, shop assistants and so forth, the class that have neither the happy-go-lucky freedom of the poor nor the leisured freedom of the rich, came specially within the range of her sympathy. It was sad to think that there were young people who, after a long day's work, had to sit alone in chill, dreary bedrooms because they could not afford the price of a cup of coffee and a sandwich in a restaurant, still less a shilling for a theatre gallery.
Jocantha's mind was still dwelling on this theme when she started forth on an afternoon campaign of desultory shopping; it would be rather a comforting thing, she told herself, if she could do something, on the spur of the moment, to bring a gleam of pleasure and interest into the life of even one or two wistful- hearted, empty-pocketed workers; it would add a good deal to her sense of enjoyment at the theatre that night. She would get two upper circle tickets for a popular play, make her way into some cheap tea-shop, and present the tickets to the first couple of interesting work girls with whom she could casually drop into conversation. She could explain matters by saying that she was unable to use the tickets herself and did not want them to be wasted, and, on the other hand, did not want the trouble of sending them back. On further reflection she decided that it might be better to get only one ticket and give it to some lonely-looking girl sitting eating her frugal meal by herself; the girl might scrape acquaintance with her next-seat neighbour at the theatre and lay the foundations of a lasting friendship.
With the Fairy Godmother impulse strong upon her, Jocantha marched into a ticket agency and selected with immense care an upper circle seat for the "Yellow Peacock," a play that was attracting a considerable amount of discussion and criticism. Then she went forth in search of a tea-shop and philanthropic adventure, at about the same time that Attab sauntered into the garden with a mind attuned to sparrow stalking. In a corner of an A.B.C. shop she found an unoccupied table, whereat she promptly installed herself, impelled by the fact that at the next table was sitting a young girl, rather plain of feature, with tired, listless eyes, and a general air of uncomplaining forlornness. Her dress was of poor material, but aimed at being in the fashion, her hair was pretty, and her complexion bad; she was finishing a modest meal of tea and scone, and she was not very different in her way from thousands of other girls who were finishing, or beginning, or continuing their teas in London tea-shops at that exact moment. The odds were enormously in favour of the supposition that she had never seen the "Yellow Peacock"; obviously she supplied excellent material for Jocantha's first experiment in haphazard benefaction.
Jocantha ordered some tea and a muffin, and then turned a friendly scrutiny on her neighbour with a view to catching her eye. At that precise moment the girl's face lit up with sudden pleasure, her eyes sparkled, a flush came into her cheeks, and she looked almost pretty. A young man, whom she greeted with an affectionate "Hullo, Bertie," came up to her table and took his seat in a chair facing her. Jocantha looked hard at the new- comer; he was in appearance a few years younger than herself, very much better looking than Gregory, rather better looking, in fact, than any of the young men of her set. She guessed him to be a well-mannered young clerk in some wholesale warehouse, existing and amusing himself as best he might on a tiny salary, and commanding a holiday of about two weeks in the year. He was aware, of course, of his good looks, but with the shy self- consciousness of the Anglo-Saxon, not the blatant complacency of the Latin or Semite. He was obviously on terms of friendly intimacy with the girl he was talking to, probably they were drifting towards a formal engagement. Jocantha pictured the boy's home, in a rather narrow circle, with a tiresome mother who always wanted to know how and where he spent his evenings. He would exchange that humdrum thraldom in due course for a home of his own, dominated by a chronic scarcity of pounds, shillings, and pence, and a dearth of most of the things that made life attractive or comfortable. Jocantha felt extremely sorry for him. She wondered if he had seen the "Yellow Peacock"; the odds were enormously in favour of the supposition that he had not. The girl had finished her tea and would shortly be going back to her work; when the boy was alone it would be quite easy for Jocantha to say: "My husband has made other arrangements for me this evening; would you care to make use of this ticket, which would otherwise be wasted?" Then she could come there again one afternoon for tea, and, if she saw him, ask him how he liked the play. If he was a nice boy and improved on acquaintance he could be given more theatre tickets, and perhaps asked to come one Sunday to tea at Chelsea. Jocantha made up her mind that he would improve on acquaintance, and that Gregory would like him, and that the Fairy Godmother business would prove far more entertaining than she had originally anticipated. The boy was distinctly presentable; he knew how to brush his hair, which was possibly an imitative faculty; he knew what colour of tie suited him, which might be intuition; he was exactly the type that Jocantha admired, which of course was accident. Altogether she was rather pleased when the girl looked at the clock and bade a friendly but hurried farewell to her companion. Bertie nodded "good-bye," gulped down a mouthful of tea, and then produced from his overcoat pocket a paper-covered book, bearing the title "Sepoy and Sahib, a tale of the great Mutiny."
The laws of tea-shop etiquette forbid that you should offer theatre tickets to a stranger without having first caught the stranger's eye. It is even better if you can ask to have a sugar basin passed to you, having previously concealed the fact that you have a large and well-filled sugar basin on your own table; this is not difficult to manage, as the printed menu is generally nearly as large as the table, and can be made to stand on end. Jocantha set to work hopefully; she had a long and rather high-pitched discussion with the waitress concerning alleged defects in an altogether blameless muffin, she made loud and plaintive inquiries about the tube service to some impossibly remote suburb, she talked with brilliant insincerity to the tea-shop kitten, and as a last resort she upset a milk-jug and swore at it daintily. Altogether she attracted a good deal of attention, but never for a moment did she attract the attention of the boy with the beautifully-brushed hair, who was some thousands of miles away in the baking plains of Hindostan, amid deserted bungalows, seething bazaars, and riotous barrack squares, listening to the throbbing of tom-toms and the distant rattle of musketry.
Jocantha went back to her house in Chelsea, which struck her for the first time as looking dull and over- furnished. She had a resentful conviction that Gregory would be uninteresting at dinner, and that the play would be stupid after dinner. On the whole her frame of mind showed a marked divergence from the purring complacency of Attab, who was again curled up in his corner of the divan with a great peace radiating from every curve of his body.
But then he had killed his sparrow.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |Points |
|Origin |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|History |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Applications Now |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Predicted Applications |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Examples of Use |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Value to Society |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Projected Lifespan/Improvements |Not stated; |Unclear; vague |Stated |Stated with some |Stated with | |
| |unclear | | |elaboration |adequate | |
| | | | | |elaboration | |
|Use of Secondary Sources |Not used; |Incorrectly used |Used with some|Used with minor |Used with proper | |
| |unclear | |errors |errors |embedding | |
| |reference | | | | | |
|Documentation |Not used |Incorrectly used |Used with some|Used with minor |Used with correct | |
| | | |errors |errors |punctuation | |
|Grammar |More than 9 |More than 7 errors|More than 5 |More than 3 errors |Three errors or | |
| |errors | |errors | |less | |
|Mechanics |More than 9 |More than 7 errors|More than 5 |More than 3 errors |Three errors or | |
| |errors | |errors | |less | |
|Spelling |More than 9 |More than 7 errors|More than 5 |More than 3 errors |Three errors or | |
| |errors | |errors | |less | |
| | | | | |Total Points | |
|Checklist |Due Date |Date Checked |Points |
|Ad | | | |
|Manager Contact | | | |
|Amount of Rent | | | |
|Cost of Deposit | | | |
|Rental Agreement Requirements | | | |
|Apartment Amenities | | | |
|Phone Hookup Cost | | | |
|Monthly Phone Service | | | |
|Utility Deposit/Hookup | | | |
|Monthly Utility Cost | | | |
|Cable Hookup Cost | | | |
|Monthly Cable Cost | | | |
|Furniture List/Cost | | | |
|Household Items/Cost | | | |
|Monthly Car Payment of other Trans.| | | |
|Cost | | | |
|Gas | | | |
|Insurance | | | |
|Maintenance of Car | | | |
|Monthly Cost of Food /List | | | |
|Cell Phone Setup Costs | | | |
|Monthly Cell Costs | | | |
|Daily Living Costs/List | | | |
|Entertainment Costs | | | |
|Monthly Savings | | | |
| | | | |
| | | Total Points | |
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|Good Lead |Flat |Vague |Acceptable |Interesting |Unforgettable |
|Introduction |Missing information: |Information attempted;|Information given; |Information given; |Information given; |
| |author, story, thesis |thesis is unclear. |thesis understandable |thesis clear |thesis clear; contrary|
| | | | | |embraced |
|Body |Fewer than three |Three paragraphs; |Three or more |Three or more |Three or more |
| |paragraphs; topic |undeveloped; missing |paragraphs, developed;|paragraphs; developed|paragraphs; |
| |sentences missing; no |elements |some aspects may be | |well-developed |
| |clincher | |weak. | | |
|Organization |No clear pattern |Organized strong to |Organized weak to |Organized weak to |Organized weak to |
| | |weak |strong |strong; transition |strong; good |
| | | | | |transition |
|Conclusion |Repeats |Repeats at length |Attempts to explain |Explains the value |Explains the value |
| | | |the value | |well |
|Grammar |More than 9 errors |More than 7 errors |More than 5 errors |More than 3 errors |3 errors or less |
|Mechanics |More than 9 errors |More than 7 errors |More than 5 errors |More than 3 errors |3 errors or less |
|Spelling |More than 9 errors |More than 7 errors |More than 5 errors |More than 3 errors |3 errors or less |
| | | | | | |
|Total Points | | | | | |
| Score Point |Central Idea |Elaboration |Organization/Unity |Style |SF/Usage/Mechanics |
|4 |*sharp focus |*selected information |*wholeness throughout |*writer demonstrates |*writer demonstrates |
| |*clarity of purpose |*thorough elaboration |*ideas related to |consistent control of |consistent, though not |
| |*strategy (preplanning |*ideas are developed |central idea |selected vocabulary, |necessarily perfect, |
| |and foreshadowing) |(examples) |*beginning, middle, end |selected information, |control of almost all of |
| | |*necessary information |*logical order |sentence diversity, |the dimension's |
| | |*specific details |*transitions |tone and voice |features |
| | | |*sense of completion | | |
| | | | | | |
|3 |*clear central idea |*ideas are developed |*beginning, middle, end |*writer demonstrates |*writer demonstrates |
| |*clear focus |*necessary information |*logical order |reasonable control of |reasonable, but not |
| | |*relevant |*simple transitions |selected vocabulary, |consistent, control of |
| | |*may have uneven |*wholeness (may have |selected information, |most of the |
| | |development |a weak ending) |sentence diversity, |dimension’s features |
| | | | |tone and voice | |
| | | | | | |
|2 |*vague central idea |*listing |*weak beginning, |*writer demonstrates |*writer demonstrates |
| |*shifts in focus |*information may be |middle, end |inconsistent control |enough inconsistent |
| | |superficial, incomplete, |*repeats and/or |of selected |control of several |
| | |and/or irrelevant |repetitions |vocabulary, |features to indicate |
| | |*idea clusters |*gaps |selected information, |significant weakness in |
| | |*little or uneven |*random order |sentence diversity, |the dimension |
| | |development |*no ending |tone and voice | |
| | | | | | |
|1 |*unclear central idea |*automatic writing |*no beginning or end |*writer demonstrates |*writer demonstrates little |
| |*confusion |without selection |*severe gaps |little or no control of |or no control of most of |
| | |*relevant information |*random order |selected vocabulary, |the dimension’s features |
| | |missed |*too little to |selected information, | |
| | |*little or no |demonstrate |sentence diversity, | |
| | |development | |tone and voice | |
| | |*minimal information | | | |
[pic]
Name: __________________________________________ Date: ____________________
Topic: _______________________________________________________________________
| |4 |3 |2 |1 |
|Dominant Impression |Clear; well-articulated |Clear; some articulation |More than one or muddled |No dominant impression |
|Definition of Impression |Stated and detailed with |Stated; some detail; |Stated only; no real detail |Minimal or no definition |
| |full development |developed |and little development |with little or no |
| | | | |development |
|Support and Elaboration |Carefully selected details |Details from life |Details; sketchy; some |Minimal support or |
| |from life experience; |experience; meaning made |attempt at meaning made |elaboration; no attempt at |
| |significant meaning made | | |meaning made |
|Relevance |Well-articulated connection |Connection to self; some |Generalized connection to |No real connection or |
| |to self; value defined. |attempt at defining value |humanity; vague attempt to |development of relevance to |
| | | |define value |student or value stated |
|Points/Total | | | | |
| | | | | |
|Comments |` |
| | |
| | |
| | |
|Technology Assessment |
| |Poor |Fair |Average |Good |Excellent |Total Pts. |
|Definition of Term | | | | | | |
|Narrowing of Topic | | | | | | |
|Development of Subject | | | | | | |
|Use of Research | | | | | | |
|Clarity of Information | | | | | | |
|Explanation of Cause | | | | | | |
|Exploration of Effects | | | | | | |
|Analysis of Value | | | | | | |
|Prediction of Future | | | | | | |
|Developments | | | | | | |
|Score Level |Description of Score Level |
| |The student’s response demonstrates in-depth understanding of the relevant content and procedures. |
|4 |The student completes all important components of the task accurately and communicates ideas effectively. |
| |Where appropriate, the student offers insightful interpretations and/or extensions. |
| |Where appropriate, the student uses more sophisticated reasoning and/or efficient procedures. |
| |The student completes most important aspects of the task accurately and communicates clearly. |
|3 |The response demonstrates an understanding of major concepts and/or processes, although less-important ideas |
| |or details may be overlooked or misunderstood. |
| |The student’s logic and reasoning may contain major flaws. |
| |The student completes some parts of the task successfully. |
|2 |The response demonstrates gaps in the conceptual understanding. |
| |The student completes only a small portion of the tasks and/or shows minimal understanding of the concepts |
|1 |and/or processes. |
| |The student’s response is totally incorrect, irrelevant, too minimal to evaluate, or blank. |
|0 | |
Evaluation
|Topics Addressed |Points - 6 |Points - 7 |Points – 8 |Points – 9 |Points – 10 |
| |Weak |Fair |Average |Above Average |Excellent |
|Values expressed | | | | | |
|Clarifications | | | | | |
|examined | | | | | |
|Reference to growth | | | | | |
|Decisions | | | | | |
|Response to quote | | | | | |
|Future obstacles | | | | | |
|Next steps | | | | | |
|Goals | | | | | |
|Future search | | | | | |
|Expectations | | | | | |
|Total Points | | | | | |
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Senior Applications in English
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