Non fiction reading

A few years ago, my dad told me about an article he read in the new yorker about a test on self control. The kids who practiced more self control succeeded later in life. I thought this was fascinating and when we had to write about a non fiction article I remembered this one.

In the article, Don’t! The Secrets of Self Control, it explains a complex experiment that shows the outcomes of kids with high or low temptation and self control. The 4 year olds were given a marshmallow. They were told they could either eat it when they please or wait 15 minutes tell the researcher came back into the room and get 2 marshmallows instead of one. Or they could ring a bell and the researcher would come running back into the room, they could eat the first marshmallow but would forfeit the second.Some kids ate the marshmallow right away, others took small pieces, some turned around so the temptation of looking at it wouldn't influence them to eat it and loose their opportunity of getting two instead of one. If the experiment succeeded, the researchers would have outlined the neural circuitry of self control.


Years later, when those kids were in high school, the researchers revisited them and asked for information on their concentration in school, SAT scores, their capacity to plan and think ahead, and their ability to cope well with their problems. The scientist in charge of the experiment analyzed his information and found that the children to ring the bell or eat the marshmallow quickly were considered “low delayers”. The low delayers did poorly in stressful situations, found it hard to maintain friendships, got lower SAT scores, and usually had trouble paying attention. The children that could wait 15 minutes had on average 200 points higher than the kids who could only wait 30 seconds. One specific example was a girl Carolyn who waited the 15 mites to get the 2 marshmallows. She was very successful in life. She went to Stanford as an undergraduate, got her ph.D. at Princeton in social phycology and now is a professor at the University of Puget Sound. Meanwhile, her brother Craig, who ate the first marshmallow and would be a “slow delayer", moved to LA and spent his career doing “all kinds of things” in the entertainment business. 

This article is so interesting to me. Not only was it a discovery in the self control as a child lasts and effects you as an adult, but the idea that who you are as a child will continue on with you as an adult. The idea is also in a way sad that if you don’t originally have self control and resist to temptation that you are almost stuck with it for your life. This makes me things of another article my parents read and t old me about that intelligence isn't something that is fixed you can acquire it and improve it. Also the same with talent. So is it possible to improve your self control? Self control seems to be something that many would want to have. Craig who participated in the experiment and was considered a low delayer said about self control, “looking back, there were definitely moments where it could have helped me make better career choice and stuff.” Self control is a very interesting topic with many levels of study and new information.


In the real world, self control is a good thing to have. It can help you stay calm, makes you more mature, helps you think things over instead of making impulsive decisions and can even help you maintain good friendships. This study showed us all that self control from when you are younger to when you are older can help you and give you a better, brighter future. This study could even lead to improvements on your self control, if you know you have bad self control as child, there could possibly be measures you could take to improve it. Overall, this was a really thought provoking article that captured my attention. I would be excited to read more articles similar to this one.

Close Reading - Royals by Lorde

I closely read the song royals by Ella Yeilch-O’Connor or, mainly known as Lorde. After closely readying it, I found that it is about diverse backgrounds and social class. It tells a story through song about the writer/singers journey and portrays through symbolism her own opinion.

When I first looked at the song I thought it was a typical teenage song about being a teen and going through regular issues such as love stories, friendship etc. I never really thought to second guess myself on what it could be telling us. Then as I looked closer, and took apart the song into its staminas and looked more at what the image gives you in your head and what it could mean or represent. I wondered what Lorde could be wanting the person listening to picture.

I interpreted the song to mean that Lorde had never come from a rich lifestyle and to say that she is ok with it. She wants to spread the message that not everyone has to be rich to have a good life or future setting, herself as an example. I also think this story has another meaning. I think the song is also also talking about how the “fantasy” she was talking about, a balance between her pop star life and being herself will likely never happen as if it was just a fantasy and the whole time she knew it could never be real. This shows an important message that not all things come true. Often songs have the opposite opinion, but I think Lorde feels it is important to show all sides, for example the rich and the poor, the good and the bad.

I think this is why a lot of people like the song, it shows a different side of pop music. Not everything is picture perfect in real life and Lorde really tries to express that idea. This is an important message to teach to kids and teenagers when often they set themselves up for disappointment. Teaching this through music is a good and new way to get through to some kids. I also think that Lorde is in a way mocking the other songs because she sings about the normal stuff that other pop songs are about and it makes them sound stuck up and immature. overall, I liked this song and looking more closely at it. It shows me not to overlook things and that when going deeper into a songbook, or any piece of writing, you can discover more than you imagined you would have.

The Stolen Party

The book The Stolen Party is about a girl of a lower social class system that struggles with where she stands to others based on her class and background.

As I looked closer at the text, I realized many things. Rosaura feels the need to resist her mother’s power while her mother just wants to do what’s best for her daughter. Her mother wants to both shelter Rosaura but also feels that the best way for her to learn is through her own experience even if it means her getting hurt.

Looking closer at the word choice shows that Rosaura feels confident in her (using words like admired herself, terribly pretty, and firm step) but other words made me contradict my original thoughts. Is Rosaura completely confident or does she have some self doubt that her mother awakened in her? Or does part or her think her mother is right she just doesn’t want to admit it? Words like slight toss provoked these thoughts. Looking closely at these words made me think more deeply about the characters and see them more complexly than I would have before.

There is also a very interesting dynamic of power vs. resistance. Rosaura has power because she is confident. This helps her hold her ground when the girl with the white bow belittles her. Also I think that her confidence and power comes from her resisting her mother’s power over her. Rosaura does not want to let her mom talk her into thinking that she is not a real guest at the party so she resists and has confidence in herself and her friendship with Luciana. Another interesting thing I found was the power and resistance between the magician and the fat boy. The magician has power over the fat boy but the fat boy does not resist. Some people let others push them around and don’t speak up for themselves. And the last big thing I noticed was the power Rosaura has in the last scene of the book. Rosaura has the power to accept the money or not. If she accepts the money it would be giving in to what her mother said all along- that she was indeed invited to serve others and not as a guest. The delicate balance, I think, is the balance of power vs. resistance between Rosaura and her mother.

The balance of power vs. resistance if very delicate but also match together. In the book, Roasuara is shielded from darkness but this just made everything come crashing down at her at once. It is important for there to be balance between good and bad, light and dark. Kind of like yin yang. We all have good and bad in our lives but it is important to have both. If we are not exposed to the bad, we end up more hurt all at once than gradually getting used to the balance. This is an important concept that may be hard to thing of as a good thing but can overall benefit us.

Favorite book of 2013!

During my time in middle school, I have observed that it can be a challenge for me to get into a book and want to read more. I looked at reading as more of a homework assignment than a pleasure. Of course there were some books that I loved and enjoyed reading like the Hunger Games or Perks of Being a Wallflower. But recently I read an amazing book called Never Fall Down that intrigued me but also opened my eyes to me as a reader. This is definitely my favorite book of 2013.

Never Fall Down is about a boy from Cambodia caught in the middle of genocide and forced to be a child soldier. The boy, Arn, decides to dedicate his life to helping other victims of war just like he was. He founded organizations to bring living arts back to Cambodia. Arn is still spreading his story and helping others.

The reason why this is one of my favorite books is that it not only captured my full attention but was really inspiring to me. It is astonishing how much someone who has been through as much as he has can do so much to give back to his community. This made me want to make a difference also and help as much as I can. I think it is important to have these kinds of books in our lives.

This book has also showed me that I can love and enjoy reading as long as I find the right book for me to read. Especially in 2014 I am going to try to read more and push myself as a reader.

Social Justice Inquiry Based Essay

In the book that I just finished, Never Fall Down, by Patricia McCormick, the Khmer Rouge takes Arn along with his village captive in Cambodia. To survive, Arn plays music for the Khmer Rouge so they won’t kill him. Later on, Arn is forced to be a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge fighting against the Vietnamese. Various characters have power in different ways. Arn has power and he uses it to help him stay alive.

Early on in the book, the Khmer Rouge ask for volunteers for the band. Arn volunteers thinking he will get a little more food or the Khmer Rouge will like him and not kill him. He learns the music so well and leads the band, everyone knows him around the camp. When he steals food, the Khmer Rouge notice but do not say anything because they need Arn to lead the band and play music. This gives Arn power. He can bend the rules more because the Khmer Rouge will not be so quick to kill him.

Later in the book, Arn and everyone else in the camp become soldiers for the Khmer Rouge. Many of the other kids look up to Arn. This gives him power over the Khmer Rouge. In order to win, the Khmer Rouge need the children to fight and as spies. The Khmer Rouge need Arn to set a good example and be loyal so the other children will follow and they can do better in the War.

At the end of the book, when Arn is in a refugee camp, he is one of the wealthy donators favorites and gets extra food and clothes. This gives him power over the other kids because he has a way to leave the refugee camp and escape to America. The other kids have nothing.

This relates to humanity because although it may not be this extreme, everyone does things to better their life or stay alive. As humans we want not only to live but also to have important meaningful things that make us happier. In Arn’s case, it is to escape to a better place and reunite with his family. 

Social Justice in My Reading Life

There are many social justice issues all around the world and especially in books of all genres. The book I am currently reading, Never Fall Down, is about how Arn, a young boy living in Cambodia is sent to a labor camp and forced to work against his will. All around him, he sees children his age die from starvation, malaria, or sheer exhaustion. Although I am not finished with this book, it is clear that it has a lot of social justice issues. The main issue is about social injustice- Arn and his village are in labor camps and many are being killed.

There are many examples of how this book is about social injustice. Arn and other children along with him are forced to work all day under the blazing sun in labor camps. This is completely unjust because they hadn't done anything wrong to deserve this treatment. Everyone at the labor camp is in horrible conditions and so many people are being killed because the Khmer Rouge think they have "poor character." The soldiers have no right to do this. They are taking away peoples lives because they believe in a different way of living than the citizens of Cambodia. This is only one story out of millions and millions of stories of social injustice in the world.

This book has really opened my eyes to the struggles that people face in their everyday lives and made me feel lucky about my life. What really amazes me is even after Arn has gone through so much and has been a child of War, he is still able to give back so much to his community and has dedicated his life to humanitarian causes around the world especially young people in need. He has founded Children of War, an organization that helps aid children of war and violence. He is also the founder of Cambodian Living Arts, a group that helps preserve the traditional art of Cambodia. Seeing how much someone could do to help others after being through as much as he was really makes me want to make an effort. I want to do more things around my community like help out at shelters and soup kitchens. But this also makes me want to go outside Brooklyn and New York. I want to go to Africa and build a school or join Doctors Without Borders. My mom and my brother met Arn and he has influenced them too. We were thinking about doing a volunteer vacation and do work helping others. I feel like I have many opportunities and am privileged but others are not. I want to help others that are facing social injustice.

Non Fiction Article Summary

In the article “ Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood”, by Sherman Alexie, published in the Wall Street Journal, the author responds to Megan Cox Gurdon’s article, “Darkness Too Visible” and takes the opposing side. Alexie thinks that teens should be able to read about dark subjects because teenagers should be able to read about the experiences they themselves, or someone they know, may be going through. In the beginning, of the article, he explains how he speaks with many kids who went through similar tough situations and were inspired by his book. He continues by explaining why Meagan cox Gurdon is wrong when she argues teens shouldn’t be exposed to dark subjects. He explains that he wishes he could have read a book as a teenager similar to the one he wrote because it would have helped him feel less alone. He concludes by stating that he writes for teens so they don’t have to face their troubles alone because he remembers what it feels like. He writes in blood because he remembers what it felt like to bleed.

Sherman Alexie uses a lot of craft moves to strengthen his argument. He gives many real life examples of teenagers going through the situations Megan Cox Gurdon believes are not appropriate for children to be reading about. Alexie says after reading Megan Cox Gurdon’s “complaints about the “depravity” and “hideously distorted portrayals” of contemporary young adult literature,” he “laughed at her condescension”. This shows he thinks her ideas are so ludicrous that they are comical; making the reader want to also think her article is ridiculous. He gives his story when he was a teenager, saying that he wishes he could of have YA books to read when he was going through hard times like many teenagers are now, convincing the reader that it helps teenagers with hard situations to read YA books

I completely agree with Sherman Alexie. It is important for kids to be able to read about topics that are relevant in their lives. It is ok to write about a topic for a certain age group especially if that age group is experiencing those hard topics in their lives. At the end of the article, Alexie says, “I write to give them weapons-in the forms of words and ideas- that will help them fight their monsters.” This quote stands out to me. It shows that the reason Alexie is writing is he wants to help teenagers fight and read about similar fights their fighting so they wont have to experience what Sherman Alexie experienced. So they won have to fight their battles alone.