January 19, 2010


123 Beauty Drive
Skii boo ski, British Columbia
Canada SKI BOO


Mr. Cleats at Central High School 123 Main Street,
Sportstown, British Columbia,
V2A 1W3

Dear Mr. Cleats

Hello Mr. Kleats my name is Juice Springsteen, the father of Tan Jovi who is currently on your extreme ironing team.

It has been brought to my and other parents attention that the practices and games are taken too seriously. We as parents are aware that your job is very difficult and sometimes frustrating. However we feel that some things would be better off changed. As a parent I’ am making an effort to arrive Tan Jovi on time to games and practices. It would be greatly appreciated if you could make such an effort to arrive on time as well. To have a successful team we as parents think it is vital to have organized practices. We also understand that it may be difficult to do so, but after attending practices we parents feel practices could be more organized. During games the more under skilled players on the team are getting little ironing time and it is vital to their skill development to iron equally as the other players. If the kids make a mistake or play poorly we have noticed that sometimes profane language is used. It would be appreciated if language could be used in a positive matter encouraging the kids along. Our final concern as parents is the emphasis placed on winning. As a very competitive person myself I know how important it is to win. If less emphasis could be put on the winning aspect of the game and rather the players effort that would make the team morale increase.

Thank you for your time Mr. Kleats, and considering our concerns.

Sincerely,




Juice Springsteen

#9
As children are growing up parents approach their children in positive or sometimes in negative ways. In the essays “The Most Powerful Question a Parent Can Ask…” by Neil Millar and “Be-ers and Doers” by Budge Wilson, it is shown the different approaches parents can take towards their children. Both passages demonstrate how the parents want the best for their children but “The Most Powerful Question a Parent can Ask…” takes a more respectful approach.

Throughout the article “The Most Powerful Question a Parent can Ask…” the author tells how giving children greater responsibilities makes them more well-rounded confident and considerate. When Millar’s children turned five “[they] have done all the things that a lot of mothers still do”. Millar goes on to say that his responsibilities as a parent are “to first nurture then educate, then, as soon as they are ready, hand over the responsibility for their well-being to them”. It is also suggested that when the children’s responsibilities around the household are increase, the parent should let them know they really appreciate it. “Give them a hug for their help and they might do even more!”. This approach to a successful upbringing of children is not only affective but also a respect for the children is shown. Once the parent shows respect for their child it will be easier for the child to want to help out around the house and will make them better people in the future.


In the second essay “Be-ers and Doers” the mother is trying to force her child to be something that he is not. The son in this passage is a laid-back, level headed person who is complete opposite of his mother. The boy’s mother wants him to be “a perfect son”, “that he is going to be a fast moving doer”. However the son is a be-er meaning he goes through life just satisfied to be. This torments the mother throughout the son’s adolescents years and she tries to get him to “pull up [his] socks or he’s gonna be in deep trouble”, but to no avail. A incident happens at the families house where a fire starts. The son organizes the whole family in a hurry and the fire gets put out. This is the first time the mother is proud of her son and he is a teenager. She saw that he was “one hundred percent alive” for the first time and now she “expects to have no more excuses from [him] now. “[She] will never rest until she [sees] [him] educated and successful”. The son goes on to say that “[he] is gunna be himself” and he leaves home. The mother is not approaching her son in a respectful way to help him be the person she wants him to be. So it is shown that when no respect is shown then things do not turn out in a positive way.

In the essay “The Most Powerful Question a Parent Can Ask…” by Neil Millar, the respectful approach of raising children is discussed. While in the essay “Be-ers and Doers” by Budge Wilson, it is shown that when no respect is shown while raising children the parent doesn’t get what is wanted.

#8

Maturity can be realized by some people after a significant event has taken place in their life. These events lead to a greater understanding of maturity and ultimately becoming more mature. There are examples of this in the novel “Hey Nostradamus” and in the movie “Step Brothers.”

In the novel “Hey Nostradamus” written by Douglas Coupland, the main character Jason is forced to go through a high school massacre carried out by three gun men. His fiancée Cheryl whom he married earlier in Las Vegas, is one of the victims in the shootings. Jason however is lucky and did not get shot, instead he lead and uprising against the gunmen throwing a rock at a shooter and killing him. The maturity obtained by Jason through this horrible event would stick with him for the rest of his life. His bravery and leadership saved many students lives.

Secondly in the movie “Step Brothers” two full grown men are forced to move in with each other after their parents start dating each other and get married. Both the unemployed men are forced to find jobs within a week or get kicked out of the house. They both fail to find jobs and the tension grows in the house causing both the parents to divorce. Both the families go their separate ways and one of the sons Dale starts to work for his brother’s helicopter company. Dale is still upset about the family breaking up so he takes initiative to organize a company event that he hopes reunites the family. The event works and the parents get back together. The event of the two men’s families moving in together ultimately cause a series of events that would make the men finally become mature individuals.

#7

Maturity, some people have it some people don’t. However sometimes a certain experience can mark the beginning of maturity for a person. I will tell a story of my great uncle Dick Rod Douglas a war veteran from the jungles of Vietnam. This war changed him.

Uncle Dick was 17 when he was drafted from Lincoln Nebraska in the 101st regiment and within a month he was sent to the distant land of Vietnam. Dick landed in Saigon with thousands of other young American soldiers. Within days his regiment was to para-troop over North Vietnam to penetrate Vietcong forces. On the 5th of August the 101st regiment (Jungle Raiders) flew in a U2 bomber over North Vietnam when suddenly the piercing alarm of an anti aircraft warning went off. The cabin of the plane ripped into flames and tore into two sections. Ragnar Blackmane Rage a soldier also from Lincoln grabbed Dick from the plane and threw him out the back hatch. Dick was unconscious. Luckily Ragnar bear hugged Dick grabbing him in mid air just as they crashed into the jungle canopy. The two men landed in the middle of enemy territory in the thick booby trapped commy jungles of the Vietcong. One more man had survived the crash a thick rugged man by the name of Ben Dover Bezugley. As soon as the men landed the Vietcong ambushed them. Ragnar was shot in the leg as he dragged Uncle Dick into cover. Multiple grenades went off and brought Dick out of his unconsciousness. Ragner grabbed his pristine M-16 and fired 13 shots. 13 kills. The men thought the area was clear so they started to move out down the ho chi mihn trails cautiously. A grenade penetrated through some bushes and landed right in front of the trio. A wounded Ragnar, a heavily dazed and confused Dick did not notice the grenade. Ben Dover noticed the grenade and as he picked it up to throw it back it blew off his arm. Now knowing he was going to die Ben Dover rushed into the Vietcong’s position to buy Dick and Ragnar time to get away.

To this day Uncle Dick never knew what happened to Ben Dover Bezugley. After the two ambushes Ragnar and Dick hid in the jungle. For a month they ate nothing but leafs and bugs as they struggled to make it back to Saigon. These two ambushes alone and the loss of a close friend made Dick and Ragnar mature significantly. After seeing death first hand Uncle Dick tells me he has been changed forever. The maturity it would take at 17 to survive a plane crash almost die is lots. This story tells how a single event can change the maturity in a person.

#6 Dave Cooks the Turkey

Stuart Mclean's writes a humorous story called Dave Cooks the Turkey, this story is about Dave getting the job to cook his family's Christmas turkey dinner. The funny way Dave does this is told throughout the story. The main technique Mclean uses in his story to create humor is the ability of the reader to relate to the comical situations in the story. Dave and his wife Morley start arguing because Morely is stressing about Christmas and Dave is playing down its seriousness. Which then progresses into the two sleeping in separate rooms and not talking to eachother. Every family knows that parents usually start arguing about something that is really stupid so that situation everyone laughs at. Dave is in bed on Christmas eve when he realizes after Morley asks him if he took the turkey out of the freezer that he did not even get a turkey yet. So Dave must go out at the last minute in the middle of the night to go get a turkey. Many men can relate to this as most of the time men are not prepared for Christmas and often forget and have to do things at the last minute. Dave does get the turkey and the next day he attempts to cook it. Morley however set a timer on the stove and Dave doesn't know how to turn it off so he cant cook the turkey at home. He realizes he is in trouble so he grabs a bottle of scotch and has a drink. Again another easily relateable subject for the readers. When most people are stressed out they will have a drink to calm down. Just the bizarre situation of Dave's dilemma makes it even more funny when he grabs a drink.

#5

I believe that P.E should not be manditory in grades 11 and 12. Students in thier senior years are mature and responsible and should be able to choose what they want to do. By forcing students to take classes it does not prepare them for the real world where they have to make their own choices. If all students are forced to take it then the class wouldent be good. Some of the students that dont want to be there would bring the class down. Gym class should be for the people who want to be there and it is not fair to make students that dont want to do it, take the class.

#5

I believe that P.E should be mandatory in grades 11 and 12. With all this talk about how the world is getting fat (especially the usa) why not get young adults into healthy habits of daily exercise? This would make people more likely to continue these activities when they leave school. The more healthy people are it is overall better for our society. If people had daily exercise every day it would cost way less for hospitals and clinics. The mood of people would be better because healthy people are happy! And by starting to teach people to do this at a younger age it will stick with them for years to come.