CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.10

Caught in the Net “Hello. My name is Kim. I’m an online-aholic.” There. I’ve said it. I guess I’ve been addicted for quite some time now, but I have just begun to realize it. My first interaction with the “Net” began when I was only 15 years old. My dad was the computer coordinator at our school, so he wanted to try Internet access at home before installing it at school. We became America Online members in 1993. None of my friends had email back then. My relationship with email started like a Romeo/Juliet conspiracy.

Internet Plagiarism Not all thieves lurk in dark alleys and parks. Some sit with their faces lit by the glow of their computer monitors, copying, pasting, and printing. It may seem like just another helpful source of information, but the Internet has taken the theft of “intellectual property” to a new level. Part of the problem is that most students don’t really know the exact definition of plagiarism or its consequences.

Anticipating the Dream “And we are scatterlings of Africa On a journey to the stars Far below we leave forever Dreams of what we were.” —Johnny Clegg I am sitting with my grandparents in the spectators’ section of the echoing auditorium, my baby brother on my lap. I’m not sure what I expected this morning, but thus far it has been an incredibly boring experience. The judge is half an hour late, and to add to that, Graeme, my brother, is tired and fussing, and would evidently much prefer his mother’s lap to mine.

Rosa Parks At their Web site, students from Lincoln Bassett Community School answer the question “Who is Rosa Parks?” I think Rosa Parks was a woman who stood up for what she believed in. —Brittney Hammett She was a woman who had the guts to stand up for what she believed. —Jessie Alexander Several other students also answered the question, responding with phrases like “my hero” and “queen mother of the revolution.” Rosa Parks is often considered as just these things, remembered as the tired seamstress who refused to give up a bus seat to a white man in 1955.

From Bed Bound to Breaking Boards She had finally gotten her green belt in Tae Kwando. It was an amazing accomplishment for Kameelah D., a thin African American girl standing about five feet tall. Only four years before, she was told by a doctor that she would never walk again. It was quite evident that not only would she walk again, but she would also run, jump, kick, and punch. When Kameelah was 11, a routine physical uncovered an abnormal curvature in her spine. It was soon after diagnosed as scoliosis. Kameelah, as well as her family, was devastated.

Student Entrepreneur Reaches for Dreams of the Sky “You’ve got to know your own value, know what you want, and stick with it.” That’s what T. McDowell’s advice to others is, and it’s certainly worked for him. This high school senior is currently the sole owner of Immersion Immaging, a successful company specializing in Internet commerce solutions and online financial databasing. McDowell began the company in 2012, although it was originally called 4th Dimension Graphics. Two years later, the company was reorganized as Immersion Immaging.

Mosquito Madness I’m drifting off to sleep, listening to the summer night’s breeze rustling the leaves on the oak outside my window. Peaceful. Dreamy. Safe. I’m almost asleep when a loud buzzing sound fills my ear. A disturbing annoyance cancels all thoughts of sleep, disturbs all peace. Buzzzzzzzz...buzzzzzzzz...buzzzzzzz. Only a mosquito can make that sound. How did it get in here? Buzzzzz...buzzzzzzz. I swat and slap at this annoying creature. I’ll get it; I know I will. I’ll knock it down in midair and put it out of its misery. That itsy-bitsy pest can’t survive my powerful swipes.

Save the Elephants What should be done with a herd of marauding elephants? This was the problem recently confronting officials at Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa. A number of orphaned male elephants had been transported to the park in order to provide them with a safe and nurturing environment. However, this step to protect the elephant population soon threatened another endangered species. The young elephants had entered musth, like puberty, a state of heightened hormonal activity and increased aggression.

If Only They Knew Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that I struggled with for the majority of my middle school years and a portion of my high school years. My classmates at Riverview High School were aware of my disorder, and it greatly affected the way they treated me. At the start of my junior year, I transferred to Madison High School. I decided not to tell anyone at that school about my eating disorder since I was mostly recovered by that time.

The Killer Bean The picture may seem familiar. Tumbling out of bed and stumbling around in the kitchen—you begin your day. But wait. It cannot begin properly without that daily ritual, the morning cup of coffee. The aroma swirls throughout the room. What can compare to the richness and fullness of that first cup of coffee? Americans lead the world in coffee drinking, consuming an average of 3.4 cups per person per day (Pennybacker 18). Gourmet coffee houses are sprouting up all over the place. But what is the real story behind this dark brown liquid?