a legend for 1st-3rd graders

King Croesus sent a message requesting that I come to see him as soon as possible. I knew that I had to go and, so as not to displease my king, I postponed all the activities that I had scheduled for the afternoon and set off for the palace. I arrived at the regal buildings and was immediately overwhelmed. I had never before been to visit the king so I had no idea where to go to meet with King Croesus and his lords. After asking several questions I made my way to what I learned was the royal court. When I walked into the room, I made several embarrassing mistakes. First I felt like (and so I'm sure I looked like) an ant getting ready to be stepped on by a huge foot. Also, I didn't know who the king was, so I introduced my self several times to different nobles, only one of whom pointed me in the right direction. I heard the snickers circling the room--I swallowed hard and approached the person who, by this time, I felt sure was the King. Thankfully I was right.

Croesus, proud as his reputation made him out to be, spoke to me about himself. After a while he asked me to assure him that he was a very happy man, maybe even the happiest. I could not lie--my mother had taught me that when I was just a young kid--so I tried to tell him of other stories of people that I knew who I considered to be cheerful and content. In each case the people led a life satisfactory life of toil and selflessness. The king did not particularly enjoy my telling him the stories. I hoped that he would be able to see how the people did not have the wealth that Croesus had, but they still lead a happy life. A life much more pleasant than his. I was immediately dismissed and I have not seen King Croesus since.

a fable for a 4-year-olds

This week's writing assignment was to rewrite the story of Little Red Riding Hood and to write it using vocabulary that 4-year-olds could understand and short enough that their attention could be captivated for that period of time.

Little Red Riding Hood's perspective

Mother, warning me not to talk to strangers and not to leave the path, handed me a basket of bread and a bottle of wine and sent me over to Grandmother, who wasn't feeling well. I was wearing my red cape and the day was bright and beautiful as I strolled down the road. The path soon lead into the woods. I had not taken three steps before a delightful-looking wolf stopped me. He was so kind and polite, I was sure that Mother would wish me to be as nice back. Mr. Wolf asked me all sorts of questions about where I lived and where I was going, what was in my basket and who was it for? Answering his questions I proceeded on my way but he stopped me again. This time he suggested that I pick a handful of purple, yellow, pink, and white flowers to take to my grandma. I did gather a bouquet and was soon skipping over to Grandmother's house. Cheerfully greeting Grandmother, I stepped into the sunny room and went over to the bed. She looked awfully hairy with big ears and a long nose. I bent a little closer to see her more clearly and right then realized that it was Mr. Wolf dressed up as my grandma! He ate me up so fast I had no time to think, but thanks to a kindly hunter who rescued me, I am alive--and now, after learning the hard way, I do not leave the path or talk to strangers anymore.

The Wolf's perspective

I was wandering about the woods on lovely afternoon and came across a little girl dressed in a red riding hood and carrying a basket of homemade bread and a bottle of wine. She told me all about her sick relation and then wondered off to pick a bouquet of flowers for her dear old grammy. So I decided to pay the lady a visit. When I opened the door I saw her, but my stomach heard her saying how good she would be to eat--just the perfect size. I couldn't believe it, so I went closer and listened harder. All in a moment she was in my belly. Oh no! Little Red Riding Hood was on her way here and now she had no grandma to eat the delicious goodies she was bringing. Quickly I pulled the night cap as far over my ears and nose as I could and slid under the covers, hoping she would not notice that I was not Grandmother. And none too soon! She knocked, came in, and stood by the bed. My stomach was growling again; the temptation was too great. I ate the little girl in one bite, along with the bread and wine. Sleep overcame me and I curled up on the floor. While I was asleep a hunter passed by and noticed that the door stood open and came in. Guessing what happened, he cut me open and there he found the little old lady and her granddaughter still alive. He stitched me up and when I woke up I scampered into the woods and never again tried to eat a human.

successful writing tips

Refutation is an important skill for writers to possess, most especially those who wish to persuade an audience to a certain point of view. There are four keys to a good refutation argument. First the intended audience should be considered; what are their opinions, interests, and concerns surrounding them? how old are they and what is their level of intellectual activity? do they have expectations of you, as the author? Next, it is important to assume that the reader is both apprehensive or ignorant of the information that is delivered. As author lays the ground work he can give is a slant that will automatically draw the listeners in. These are all basics that are profitable for any writer to think about. So what makes a refutation different? In a refutation the author needs to clearly state his position as well as the points of the opponent. In so doing, the narrator needs to have a sense of respect and decorum, especially when presenting the stance of the adversary. When the contrasting viewpoint is brought up, it clarifies to the audience what is going to be discussed and disputed. Fourthly, the last make-or-break concern is the importance of keep the readers attention. The first couple sentences need to create a rapport, or the argument is basically done for; once it is lost, it is nearly impossible to gain is back favorably.

a book for everyone

I Love You, Goodnight

I Love You, Goodnight is written by Jon Buller and Susan Schade. Every page is a colorful illustration with just a few words. It is a simple, but very sweet story-poem. It makes a great read aloud or bedtime story for little children. It does not present a particular worldview, accept that the relationship between the mother and daughter is encouraged and the reader is left cheerful and ready to face everything with a smile.

Little House On The Prairie

Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the book series, Little House On The Prairie. She wrote them in such a way that someone of any age could enjoy her writing, but her main audience is young girls who are as old as Laura was in the stories. The writing style is informal and great for reading to oneself or aloud to listeners. Wilder expects the readers to be able to enjoy a farm/country way of life as seen through a little girl's eyes. Most particularly, she writes to the Americans who are interested in the life of the pioneers; backwoods to a dug-out to wide open spaces to log cabins to a general store, Wilder does a great job keeping the attention of the reader and filling in the details that typify her family's life as a settler. Although the Christian worldview is not stated clearly, the Wilder family does go to church when they live in town and in general Christian morals are presented. These books are a fairly easy read and interesting at a very young age, which is great for the elementary- and middle school-age scholars.

Herodotus' Histories

Herodotus wrote his history tome for people ages 15 and up. Though his book is full of great descriptions and accounts of lifestyles, battle, and countryside, several of the topics are unsuitable for a young audience as some of the scenes are graphically portrayed (though not undue attention is spent on these sections). Most of the writing is fairly easy to comprehend, but its sheer volume disheartens even some of the most avid readers. The original intended readers lived in the ancient civilizations themselves, but Herodotus still takes the time to narrate everything that he sees and has memorized; the reader, no matter what nationality, does not need prior knowledge about the ancients before reading this book, as most everything is explained as the book progresses. A bit daunting, the 1,000+ pages are a treasure chest full of geographic location descriptions, interesting tid-bits, and historical facts to the inquisitive and motivated reader.

The Progenitor of Written Antiquity

What if studying humanity was enjoyable and humorous? Often times history texts are difficult to read or so boring to read that it does not captivate the reader’s attention; not so with Herodotus’ Histories. This ancient storyteller has a special gift of being able to take the facts of what is known to have happened and mix it up with the myths, legends, and sagas of the past, most of which are truly plausible, if not proven to be true, to create a fascinating account of the archaic times, people, and places. Herodotus was the first man to compile bits and pieces of the world’s oral anecdotes and recorded them for all posterity to read. It is his writings that have set into motion the copying down of historical events, successfully informing the mankind.

Herodotus was born in 484BC and grew up in Halicarnassus (this town is in modern-day Turkey). His family was well-to-do and thus his education was highly thought of and promoted. In his childhood he was able to travel throughout the ancient Greek and Persian world that he lived in. During his peregrinations Herodotus studied the manners, customs, and religions of the various people groups that he journeyed amongst. He also picked up stories and yarns that the citizenry told and mentally added to his plethora of oral narrations. He was again abroad in his adult years when he was exiled for a number of years. It was during this time that he died at the age of about 60 (the exact year of his death is unknown).

Often dubbed “The Father of History,” Herodotus is the first of the ancient writers to record the history of humanity from the archaic past up through the current events his lifetime. The Histories is a compilation of the oral stories that Herodotus had learned from the people and traditions that surrounded him and committed to memory. Because he gathered all the information he wrote about directly from the people, saw the places, or experienced the situations, he is considered a primary source and his work is considered very accurate, but certainly not faultless. One of the main points of criticism, is that Herodotus so skillfully wove the facts in amongst the folklore tales, that it can be difficult to distinguished and truth sifted out.

Although it contains some questionable “facts,” Herodotus’ writing has withstood the test of time, one of the finest evaluations of illustrious literature. Renowned books remain on the uber-long list of classics because they are widely read, understandable, and well loved; Herodotus’ writing fulfills all three of these qualifications. Today, The Histories of Herodotus, is still one of the best and oldest books available for people to study the ancients. The wealth of information, and amusement, accessible at the turn of a page is remarkable. Reading once through a book as chalk-full of “dates and dead people” as this one, will enhance anyone’s cornucopia of quintessential knowledge.

Herodotus’ erudite knowledge of the ancient times is displayed in his researching of the details and specifics of the oral legends and fables that he learned. Creatively woven into the stories, the customs, ceremonies, and traditions of the ancient civilizations are known today because of the treasury of information found in Herodotus’ classic tome. The Histories have been read by people all over the world; read in different languages and by people of all ages and historic backgrounds. By writing down his knowledge of the cultures surrounding him, The Father of History profoundly influenced the generations extending from the mid 400’s BC until the present age.

slant narratives

(a slant narrative is a story told from a first person point of view, stating the facts and appealing to the emotions of the hearers/readers)

Hare:

One afternoon, Tortoise came up to me and basically dared me to prove that I could beat anyone that I chose to race. Of course I jumped on the opportunity, and asked politely if the turtle would race with me. We were both lined up at the starting point and I began to realize that it might look like I was taking an unfair advantage of Tortoise. I determined to do something about that. I was out of sight of Tortoise at the first bend. The race was almost over and Tortoise was probably just getting into the groove of the race. I decided to lay down and rest a bit to give him some time to catch up, knowing that if he happened to come by before I was up, I would surely hear him, at which time I could amble past and finish. I woke up and saw the scuffled prints of the turtle; I was too late. He took advantage of me during my slumber and unfairly won the race.

Tortoise:

Hare was accustomed to bragging about himself and the speed at which he could run. All of us smaller animals were sick and tired of the perpetual harassment from this rabbit. One day, completely fed up with the same ol' swaggering talk I walked up to Hare and told him that he was indeed swift, but that he shouldn't be too sure that no one could be him. This made him fluster and rage, and, on the spot, he challenged me to a race. Of course I knew that he was faster, but not knowing what he would do to me if I refused, accepted. The gunshot cracked and the race was started. He left me in the dust, but I, slowly plodding on in the hot summer heat, came upon him in the middle of the afternoon sleeping under a tree. I, however, trudged on...one step more and I would break the tape on the finish line. I glanced back, hearing the commotion of a tempest; it was Hare trying to make a dash to win the race. I stepped forward, broke the tape, and incurred the wrath of my opponent.

Summary of Apollo and Daphne

Summary of Ovid’s Apollo and Daphne

Apollo, a great archer, was very conceited, and one day he saw Eros, a fellow archer. Eros was the sun of Aphrodite, and his arrows were know for either making their target falling love, or hate the idea of love. Apollo, being the conceited fellow that he was, insulted Eros saying that his arrows did not make a difference, and that a little guy like Eros couldn’t even hit his target. Eros was very insulted and struck Apollo with the gold tipped arrow (which made him lust), and shot a young girl Daphne with the lead tipped arrow (which made her reject love). Apollo was enthralled with Daphne and chased after her relentlessly, but Daphne continually ran away from him. Daphne’s father was Ladon, the river god. She could not run away any longer and pleaded with her father to save her. He heard her cry and turned her into a laurel tree on the bank of the river. Her feet took root in the ground, her arms were the branches, and her hair turned into leaves. Apollo came upon the tree and saw how beautiful it was. He decided that if he could not have the girl, he would have a tree of his own, and he clung to the tree and never let go.

history of the ancient and modern jury systems

Ancient Greeks had the very first judicial system. Roughly 500 men would gather to hear the litigation and give their opinions of the case. If the trial was a big deal or significant decisions were to be made, it was common for 1,000-1,500 people to attend. With a crowd that huge everybody did not have to agree. However the people did not have a good way to resolve a matter. This caused a very unstable government. The Romans picked up on the Greeks' practice and improved the court system. Roman common law was the basis of their legal system. A ten-man board of nobles were chosen to uphold and carryout the judgements. The formalities were not nearly as strict as they are in today's courtroom, but the basic structure had been laid.

The Romans then influenced the english people. Most of the customs stayed the same, but where the process of defense and accusation became more prominent. When evidence was asked for, it was the responsibility of the defendant or the prosecutor to provide such verification. Today's prosecutors and attorneys gather the witnesses and facts about a given case. This is one of the most important issues where the modern American court system is divergent from the ancient english legal system.

In America, the course of action taken when a person is accused of a crime is called Trial by Jury. A Trial is the process of examination by which a judge or jury decides if a malefactor is guilty or innocent. A jury is a group of people selected from the community who sit and listen to a lawsuit. This group of people has to be impartial to both sides and, in accordance with the US Constitution, the jury can be made up of 1-12 people. Under certain circumstances, the accused may ask for a trial by judge (no jury is present and the jugde decides the case), which, in most cases, is honored. Before the trial begins the people of the jury swear to be unbiased and truthful in the proceeding legal affairs. In the United States of America all felons "shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall be committed." Undivided in opinion, the vote of the jury must be unanimous, or a "hung jury" is called and a new group of jurors must hear and respond to the lawsuit.

Life of a Poet

Publius Ovidius Naso, known today as the poet Ovid, was born in 43BC to a fairly wall-to-do family in Sulmona, Italy. He grew up and attended college, studying law. After his dad died, Ovid quit working for a degree in law and focused his energies in writing; he had noticed that most of his work on litigations had some sort of rhythm--thus inspiring his life-long career. During his lifetime he wrote several books, most of which are notoriously cheeky and brusque. Unfortunately most of the material he wrote about is a reflection of his personal life. One of his tomes is a the chronicles of the mythic gods of the ancients: The Metamorphoses, which is in fact profitable reading. Later in his life he was banished, because of the infamous nature of several of his writings, to an island in the middle of the Black Sea by the Emperor of Rome. There he remained until his death in 17AD.

what? another blog?

So I have started yet one more blog. This is so that Marissa and I could post our most reflective and/or thought-provoking papers and ideas and questions about what we are currently reading. Feel free to comment--actually, your thoughts and opinions are highly desired as we pursue this, my newest enthusiastic escapade.