Research Paragraphs

       Basically, I’m trying to figure out what life was like for people in concentration camps and in slavery and how they survived or escaped.  I want to know what their life was like after.  I want to know how their experiences in earlier life shaped their lives after the horrors that endured and how they were affected.   I have always really liked learning about the Holocaust and concentration camps, and also about the Underground Railroad, so I kind of just combined the two.  So far, I have found lots of newspaper articles about holocaust survivors and their role in the community.  A lot of them work with younger generations to educate them on their past.  Also, some people became really successful businessmen or doctors, etc.  As far as ex-slaves go, a lot of them almost made a whole new life for themselves, and recreated their identities.  They changed their names, and moved far away from where they were slaves.  This probably has to do with the fear of being found and put in slavery again.

       For this research project, I have decided to embark on a quest for the answer of these questions: What was life like for those in concentration camps during the Holocaust and in slavery in the United States?  How did they survive or escape, and how did their experiences shape the life that they lived after their hardships ceased?  After my first exposure to the abhorrence of the Holocaust and slavery, I have desired to seek more information, and this is a superlative opportunity to do so.  At the conclusion of my preliminary research, I have constituted a one sentence answer to each topic; the Holocaust and slavery: Surviving the Holocaust takes a resolute person, and survivors use the skills they have learned about perseverance to create a new life for themselves.  On the other hand, former slaves adopt a different method, choosing to forget about the past and focus on the future, often times changing their name and relocating to a new home, in fear of being recaptured.

Reading Times: Total- 2 1/2 hours

Find, Read, and Annotated 5 sources + Revise Annotated Bibliography- 2 Hours
The Memory Keeper's Daughter- 30 minutes, 17 pages

Research Update

It's that time again.  Research time.  For me, these kind of projects aren't usually too bad, but I do find them a bit boring.  I was hoping that since we got to pick our own topic, this wouldn't be the case, but now I am regretting my decision.  I wish I would've picked something more interesting that relates to my current life, but it's too late to change my topic now! :/ By now, you're probably wondering what my topic is.  "What were the similarities and differences of the lives of people who survived the holocaust during World War II and slavery in the United States?  What were their lives like after they escaped, and what did they do?"

When finishing up my annotated bibliography, I found that I only have sources about the Holocaust, and none about slavery.  So this week, my research will pretty much be devoted to slavery.  I am planning on looking at slave narratives to find my information.  The two databases I have used so far are EBSCO and Facts on File.  EBSCO has a lot of newspaper articles on the current lives of Holocaust survivors, which has been helpful.  I plan on exploring other databases, as well as looking for books in our library.  I am now realizing that there is probably more information on slavery than the holocaust, simply because there were more survivors.  So really, I have done the hard half of my research, and information will be easier to find now.

found, read and annotated one source- 25 minutes
edited and revised 5 annotations- 25 minutes

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

1/14/13- 10 minutes, 6 pgs
1/15/13- 15 minutes, 9 pgs
1/16/13- 10 minutes, 5 pgs
1/17/13- 10 minutes, 5 pgs
1/18/13- 15 minutes, 10 pgs
1/21/13- 40 minutes, 27 pgs
Total: 1 hour 50 minutes + 50 minutes of research

Free Post

Keep Calm and Carry On.  Nowadays, you see it everywhere.  But do you harness an erudition of the real meaning?
The first time I saw this saying was in my aunt's house.  She had a poster of it in her computer room, and I always thought it was a nice saying.  The slogan originated in Britain and was produced right before the beginning of World War II as a way of uplifting the spirits of its militant citizens during the crusade.  It was not publicly displayed, and had little distribution, so not many people knew about it.  It was used during that time period, and then it lapsed into a time during the late 1900's when it wasn't used.

But look around today, and you see it everywhere.  Ask anyone and they'll tell you that they've seen it.  Variations have been made, my personal favorite, "Keep Calm and Swim On," but there are many more.  The slogan and its variations are used on t-shirts, coffee cups, blankets, phone cases, etc.  People have not taken the redesigning of the slogan as an avocation, but as a business.  My question is, is it being overused?  Honestly, I think the demeanor in which it's used is getting a bit annoying.  All I ever see anymore when shopping on the internet is this slogan, and for me, it's becoming a raucous saying.  It's quite a shame that a saying that originally held such a deep meaning and purpose, is now becoming overused and worn out.  I am not trying to be definitive and say that people shouldn't use this slogan anymore.  I just hope that whenever people see this slogan, they remember the real meaning, and take it to heart.

Reading Response 1/13/13

I am still reading The Memory Keeper's Daughter and it is getting good!  When I started reading this week, the book was set in March 1965.  We get a slice of the daily life of Caroline, the nurse, and Phoebe, the baby with down syndrome.  So far in the book, the author has described Caroline struggling to  raise a baby with down syndrome and her feeling alone.  But now Caroline has a friend Sandra, who also has a baby with down syndrome, and they are able to talk together and support each other.  I think that this is a good step for Caroline, so that she is able to accept that she needs help raising this baby, especially since it is a secret to Phoebe's mother that the baby is even alive.

I hope that just as Caroline is getting support for her struggles, the father of Phoebe, David can confide in someone the truth until he is ready to tell his wife that their baby is still alive.  You can tell that the guilt is now starting to eat him alive from the words the author writes.  "He must tell her; the words filled his mouth.  I love you, I love you so much, and I lied to you."  He knows that no matter how truthful about everything else he is, he will always have lied to his wife about one of the biggest parts of their life. Guilt is an awful thing.  It will never go away unless you tell the truth.  For the rest of his life, he will have guilt about not telling his wife that the baby is alive.  For the rest of his life, he will have to face the guilt of giving his baby to a nurse to take away, and not making the decision with his wife.  Even if he tells the truth, nothing will ever be the same.  He will have to regain the trust of his wife, and that may never happen.  Hopefully, David will get the help that he needs to learn how to break the truth to his wife, and their relationship will be ok.

1/9/13- 30 minutes, 10 pages
1/13/12- 2 hours, 67 pages
Total- 2 hours, 37 minutes, 77 pages

EHS Girls Basketball

The smell of popcorn enters the stands

Feeding the mouths of ones we call fans

School spirit swirls among everyone

The team we watch will act as one

I look around for the score

The buzzer sounds and closes the door

The numbers show an overwhelming fight

They played till the end with all their might

That night they walk out victorious

But it’s not long until again they become warriors

Every game, every night

Our Episcopal Knights reignite

Until then we wait and see

If our girls will come together and be

The ones who acted as a team that day

Breaking out just to say

FAMILY ON 3

1,2,3 FAMILY!