TKAM – Racism Then VS Now

Racism has always been and always will be a problem that our society has to face. It isn’t as bad as it used to be, however, we as a community still have a long way to come. Now, African Americans are not slaves owned by White people exposed to violence, mistreatment and malnutrition. It is now illegal to own a slave, and make him/her work all day and night cleaning and taking on commands from their masters. Furthermore, it is most certainly illegal to beat or whip someone if they have done something wrong or if they disobey a command. I find it hard to believe that less than 100 years ago, this type of behaviour was accepted or even praise in our society. Although, there are aspects of racism that have been around for generations. Chinese people are assumed to be smart, intelligent, short, and “yellow.” Having small eyes would have people automatically assuming you’re asian. Black boys are stereotyped as aggressive, dangerous and up to no good. If you are white, people will automatically assume you are rich, furthermore, if you are a blonde white girl people will believe that you are dumb and all Muslims are considered to be terrorists. Another comparison of racism throughout history could be, in the 1920’s full meals were not given to them, instead they were fed the left-over dinner from their masters. Now, black people have started to receive the same rights as White people. They are able to vote, able to go to public locations without any difficulties and they are also able to go to the same school as White people. Although, there will always be racist people living in our society unwilling to accept change, and it may be almost impossible to entirely prevent the amount of racism and discrimination people of colour receive, most improvements are possible.

Sam’s Character Sketch

Melia Rokosh
English 10

Sam’s Character Sketch:

Sam is a 7th grade boy who enjoys playing sports and trying new things, in the short story “Sam the Athlete” by Stuart McLean, Sam discovers his passion for field hockey and is willing to do anything it takes to stay on the team, such as dressing up like a girl. When Sam makes the team, he is given a skirt. A skirt that “was making him so happy or, more to the point, he was happy when he was wearing his skirt because, who would have guessed, after all those years, it turns out field hockey was Sam’s game.”
He is known as a timid, self conscious child who later blossoms into an outgoing, ambitious and courageous young man, and field hockey gave him the confidence to do so. While trying out for the field hockey team, Sam assumes that it is only for girls. On page 67 the author mentions: “He could, of course, have just disappeared silently. He could’ve slipped away and never come back to the field hockey team… but as Sam was leaving, the coach called out to him. “Nice work, Samantha”… Sam have been aching to hear those words ever since his first soccer game.” Sam’s coach thought he was really good at field hockey, and she believed in him, so this made Sam believe in himself. As a result, Sam decides to dress up and act like a girl for the next three weeks just to play with the field hockey team. One night Sam’s dad walked in on what he thought was Sam dancing in front of the mirror in his room wearing a skirt and holding a women’s razor. An indirect characterization could be the he thought his son was homosexual, but in reality Sam was simply craving nothing more than to be on the field hockey team, and was willing to do anything for that.
I imaged Sam as a typical grade 7 guy with long hair, because he was mistaken for a girl. I also imagine him with not very many muscles, and with a high pitched squeaky voice considering he is only 12. Sam still has a lot of change ahead of him, but one thing that’s for sure is that he will always hold field hockey close to his heart.

Life is About Experiences – Melia Rokosh

Melia Rokosh
Block B
September 8 2017

Endless Summer Memories

Neaouww…! My ears finally pop as our plane lands in London. The long ten hour flight tired me out and my legs needed room to stretch. I stumbled off the plane gazing into space! I’d heard stories of jet lag, but never really experienced it, the farthest I’d traveled was down to Florida. When we went through customs, we were greeted by a nice British officer, he gave us back our passports and welcomed us to London. The tube ride down to our hotel seemed like an eternity, as we were sitting on the train, I could feel my eyelids closing. I drifted off into a warm cozy sleep, but before I knew it, my dad tapped my shoulder, we made it to our station. When we walked off the train, my mom asked a nice tall lady wearing high heels and a blazer if she knew where we could find our hotel. She kindly told us to turn left, and then keep going straight. After a long 10 minute walk, we stumped across our hotel. We walked into our room and I immediately fell asleep on my bed. Later that night, we decided to eat at “St George’s Pub”, they had the most amazing fish and chips that taste like heaven, and they were so big and melted in your mouth. The next day we walked nearly 20 km, my feet had a sharp and raw feeling, but the day was well worth it! We headed down to Buckingham palace, where we saw the “changing of the guards ceremony”, it was very thrilling to watch all the guards marching perfectly in sync. After that, we walked down to see Big Ben, his chimes were so soothing and snug. I am forever grateful for the opportunity considering only days later they announced that Big Ben would be silent for the next four years. Following Big Ben, we decided to ride the London eye, the view from the top is breath taking. We were so high up, but I didn’t even realize, the air smelled so pure and it was the perfect way to end an unbelievable day. The next day we rode the fast speed train from London to Paris. It was so exhilarating, it went 300 km per hour and even traveled underwater. We had an amazing view of the French countryside, we saw little villages and lots of farm land. I noticed immediately after we got off the train how rude Parisians are. They never tried to help us and were constantly trying to get us lost. Our first night there, we did a hop on hop off tour. It was the highlight of my trip. Along the way we sat up top to enjoy the entire view. The tour started by the Louvre and took us down to champs Élysées, the ‘Arc De Triomphe’, the road where Marie Antoinette and Louis the sixteenth were executed. The incredible tour ended with a magnificent view of the Eiffel tower. We also took a day trip to the palace of Versailles, where we took a tour of the amazing chateau. The gates were made from pure gold and the air looked sparkly, the interior was absolutely stunning, there is beautiful wall decor hand painted by eighteenth century painters lined with gold everywhere. History has always been one of my favourite subjects, so I loved learning all about it. The air smelled antique and plenary, one could sit there all day, and never get bored. We later continued our conversation ended our trip in Barcelona, although it was beautiful, it was also quite sad. 3 days before we arrived there, Barcelona had experienced a tragic terrorist attack. There were sad yet peaceful memorials all down the street of Las Rambla. It felt so warm and soothing, and smelled like a million vanilla scented candles, the air felt gloomy, yet it had a glimpse of hope. Overall, it was a memorable trip, Europe is filled with way more history and significant exhibitions, and I would be delighted to travel there again.

Partner Paragraph- English 10

Partner Paragraph:

Jayna is an enthusiastic and kind hearted girl who I met in my English 10 class. She loves science, springboard diving and watching TV in her free time. When she gets older, Jayna wants to become a doctor. She finds science very intriguing, and loves learning about the human body and all the different organs. In her free time, Jayna loves Watching tv, but more specifically the big bang theory, and her favourite character is Sheldon. As a hobby, Jayna used to do Spring board diving, but after 5 years she decided to stop. In fact she would love to visit a destination near a beach and a diving board to practice her skills. To conclude Jayna is a very friendly and fascinating young girl, and I would be delighted to work with her in the future.