Why write? Penmanship for the 21st Century | Jake Weidmann | TEDxMileHigh

Consider this for public speaking; for argumentative writing, or just to learn and understand how and why it is important to learn to use a pen. One point he also makes that is invaluable: it builds fine motor muscles and hand-eye coordination. Want to be a better gamer? Learn to write in script (cursive). Want to send someone a message that shows your personal commitment? Learn to write in cursive. Want to practice discipline to make your strength of character known to others in a simple way? Learn to....

Essay ideas for any subject: the "How & Why it Matters" points

     

I developed three new opening ideas/themes to help elementary, middle, high school, and college-university students who struggle with opening paragraphs for essays. And I did this because “how do I start my essay?” seems to be one of the biggest questions I hear as a teacher and instructor. So here they are, and each one has a symbol or image to use as a visual reminder. They are Personal, National, and Global. The key to each is “How does the idea I need to write about have an impact on me or the reader?How does it affect me as the writer of this essay?” And the best one that I like: establishing WHY the idea has relevance to (1) you personally, (2) your country or place where you live (city, town), and (3) the World. Planet Earth. (When you realize the idea you're writing about has relevance for the planet we live on, it can take on greater impact and significance.)

 Once you, the student, focus your attention on each of the three, you’ll find your answer—and writing your opening idea for your essay will be much easier. It's a part of brainstorming--and that is important to good writing. You have to THINK before you write--and then it becomes easier to produce an essay or paper.

First, is it Personal? Does this idea in the essay have a PERSONAL impact on you? For example, is it asking you to BUY something? That’s about $$. See the symbol? That’s M.O.N.E.Y. or whatever you use to buy things (credit, bitcoin, cash). If the idea in your essay is something that you NEED or WANT or think is worth having, and to get it, you have to BUY it in some form, then you’re PERSONALLY involved: this is about YOU. And to satisfy “your wants-needs”, you have to spend your savings, earnings, or however else you can pay for “it”. Think of it this way: if you have to open your wallet, purse, or whatever and however you carry your form of funds, that’s why it’s personal. You can’t just get it by asking someone because you have to PURCHASE IT. See? Personal-Purchase. It’s Perfect for an opening Paragraph. A variation of this: what does the idea ask you to DO? What ACTION is it asking you to take? WHY is that action important to you? HOW will the outcome make a difference in your life, and in WHAT APPROACH TO DOING IT must you take?

Second idea: does this idea have an impact on your HOME COUNTRY? Does this idea have an effect on WHERE YOU LIVE? That’s NATIONAL. Your nation. For example: “Does your country have a law or policy about…?” Or, is there a SOCIAL issue going on that people are talking about, arguing about, or commenting about in some manner? It’s NATIONAL. That is why it matters to you: because in some form, shape, or other decision, it affects you as a citizen. 

Third: is the idea something that impacts planet Earth? Is this something that affects ALL of us living on this world? Is it about the environment? Is it about conflict and politics? Is it about SOMETHING that we all must consider if we are to survive as a species? (Example: a huge asteroid is coming toward Earth—what must we do?) So, when it comes to your essay and how to start, just look for one of these three options. You will find one—or maybe two—or even all three—can be guides to get you started. And when you finish, you’ll have written more than you knew possible or perhaps than you’ve ever done before—and you can repeat it again and again when you’re asked to write a paper or something else.
(C) MDLOP8 2018

The Nine Types of Intelligence and examples

 

1. Naturalist Intelligence

Naturalist intelligence designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations). This ability was clearly of value in our evolutionary past as hunters, gatherers, and farmers; it continues to be central in such roles as botanist or chef. It is also speculated that much of our consumer society exploits the naturalist intelligences, which can be mobilized in the discrimination among cars, sneakers, kinds of makeup, and the like.

2. Musical Intelligence

Musical intelligence is the capacity to discern pitch, rhythm, timbre, and tone. This intelligence enables us to recognize, create, reproduce, and reflect on music, as demonstrated by composers, conductors, musicians, vocalist, and sensitive listeners. Interestingly, there is often an affective connection between music and the emotions; and mathematical and musical intelligences may share common thinking processes. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are usually singing or drumming to themselves. They are usually quite aware of sounds others may miss.

3. Logical-Mathematical Intelligence

Logical-mathematical intelligence is the ability to calculate, quantify, consider propositions and hypotheses, and carry out complete mathematical operations. It enables us to perceive relationships and connections and to use abstract, symbolic thought; sequential reasoning skills; and inductive and deductive thinking patterns. Logical intelligence is usually well developed in mathematicians, scientists, and detectives. Young adults with lots of logical intelligence are interested in patterns, categories, and relationships. They are drawn to arithmetic problems, strategy games and experiments.

4. Existential Intelligence

Sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about human existence, such as the meaning of life, why we die, and how did we get here.

5. Interpersonal Intelligence

Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with others. It involves effective verbal and nonverbal communication, the ability to note distinctions among others, sensitivity to the moods and temperaments of others, and the ability to entertain multiple perspectives. Teachers, social workers, actors, and politicians all exhibit interpersonal intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence are leaders among their peers, are good at communicating, and seem to understand others’ feelings and motives.

6. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence

Bodily kinesthetic intelligence is the capacity to manipulate objects and use a variety of physical skills. This intelligence also involves a sense of timing and the perfection of skills through mind–body union. Athletes, dancers, surgeons, and crafts people exhibit well-developed bodily kinesthetic intelligence.

7. Linguistic Intelligence

Linguistic intelligence is the ability to think in words and to use language to express and appreciate complex meanings. Linguistic intelligence allows us to understand the order and meaning of words and to apply meta-linguistic skills to reflect on our use of language. Linguistic intelligence is the most widely shared human competence and is evident in poets, novelists, journalists, and effective public speakers. Young adults with this kind of intelligence enjoy writing, reading, telling stories or doing crossword puzzles.

8. Intra-personal Intelligence

Intra-personal intelligence is the capacity to understand oneself and one’s thoughts and feelings, and to use such knowledge in planning and directioning one’s life. Intra-personal intelligence involves not only an appreciation of the self, but also of the human condition. It is evident in psychologist, spiritual leaders, and philosophers. These young adults may be shy. They are very aware of their own feelings and are self-motivated.

9. Spatial Intelligence

Spatial intelligence is the ability to think in three dimensions. Core capacities include mental imagery, spatial reasoning, image manipulation, graphic and artistic skills, and an active imagination. Sailors, pilots, sculptors, painters, and architects all exhibit spatial intelligence. Young adults with this kind of intelligence may be fascinated with mazes or jigsaw puzzles, or spend free time drawing or daydreaming.

Even 20 years after Gardener’s book came out, there is still a debate whether talents other than math and language are indeed types of intelligence or just skills. 

What do you think?

Challenging a millenia-old notion that intelligence is a single kind of human capacity does not necessarily win one friends among the intelligent. Gardener’s book is still controversial. If you find it describes exactly what you have suspected to be true since you first went to school, it still isn’t an easy pill to swallow. This book questions what we consider a good education, what we consider talent, and how much control one has to acquire them. The insights are there as long as you are willing to follow Gardener’s scholarly style – he admits he writes for fellow psychologists.

If you prefer a more entertaining but no less profound style, read Ken Robinson’s The Element. Just as upbeat as his famously animated talk at Ted, the book starts with exploring what went wrong or rather what was so right about your childhood self, what school did to it and why, and how now it’s not too late to rediscover your talents and intelligences.

The magnificent Osprey: the fish-hunting raptor

1. 
   
   With thanks to allaboutbirds.org. I have been lucky to watch these magnificent creatures when I lived in northwest Washington state near the ocean and inlets. (I was also lucky enough to watch bald eagles when I lived on Adak in the Aleutian Island chain in 1977-78. If you caught a salmon, you might have to fight an eagle to keep it before you reeled it in to land. A bald eagle is larger than an osprey.)

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons.

Find This Bird

Near open water with an abundant supply of fish, listen for the osprey’s whistling or chirping calls overhead, or look for this bird's distinctive flight profile and heavy wing beats. From spring into fall, a boat or raft on a lake or river can provide an especially good vantage point. Scan treetops and other high spots along the shore for perched adults and untidy stick nests piled atop a platform, pole, or snag out in the open. 

Backyard Tips

Consider putting up a nest platform to attract a breeding pair. Make sure you put it up well before breeding season. You'll find plans for building a nest structure of the appropriate size on our All About Birdhouses site.

Cool Facts

An osprey may log more than 160,000 migration miles during its 15-to-20-year lifetime. Scientists track Ospreys by strapping lightweight satellite transmitters to the birds’ backs. The devices pinpoint an osprey's location to within a few hundred yards and last for 2-3 years. During 13 days in 2008, one Osprey flew 2,700 miles—from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, to French Guiana, South America.

Ospreys are unusual among hawks in possessing a reversible outer toe that allows them to grasp with two toes in front and two behind. Barbed pads on the soles of the birds' feet help them grip slippery fish. When flying with prey, an osprey lines up its catch head-first for less wind resistance.

Ospreys are excellent anglers. Over several studies, ospreys caught fish on at least 1 in every 4 dives, with success rates sometimes as high as 70 percent. The average time they spent hunting before making a catch was about 12 minutes—something to think about next time you throw your line in the water.

The osprey readily builds its nest on man-made structures, such as telephone poles, channel markers, duck blinds, and nest platforms designed especially for it. Such platforms have become an important tool in reestablishing ospreys in areas where they had disappeared. In some areas nests are placed almost exclusively on artificial structures.

Osprey eggs do not hatch all at once. Rather, the first chick emerges up to five days before the last one. The older hatchling dominates its younger siblings, and can monopolize the food brought by the parents. If food is abundant, chicks share meals in relative harmony; in times of scarcity, younger ones may starve to death.

The name "Osprey" made its first appearance around 1460, via the Medieval Latin phrase for "bird of prey" (avis prede). Some wordsmiths trace the name even further back, to the Latin for "bone-breaker"—ossifragus.

The oldest known osprey was at least 25 years, 2 months old, and lived in Virginia. It was banded in 1973, and found in 1998.

Fallacies in argumentative logic

 

A lady of willpower and education

She started a school for African-American girls with $1.50. The school bordered the town dump. Make-shift desks and chairs were made from discarded crates and boxes. There were five students at the time, and the students made ink for pens from elderberry juice and pencils from burned wood.

When the the local Ku Klux Klan heard about the school, they threatened to burn it down. There were reports that they waited outside the school, but she stood in the doorway, unwilling to back down or leave her school. Other stories say that she and her students started singing spirituals. The Ku Klux Klan eventually left.

Mary McLeod Bethune was born on July 10, 1875, in a log cabin on a cotton farm in South Carolina, the 15th of 17 children of former slaves. Most of her brothers and sisters were born into slavery; she was the first child born free. She started working in the fields by the age of five.

One day, she accompanied her mother, delivering “white people’s” wash. When she was given permission to enter the white children's nursery, she saw a book, which fascinated her. A white girl would quickly snatch the book from her hands, telling her she didn't know how to read. That's when Mary realized the only difference between white and black folk was the ability to read and write.

When she got the opportunity, McLeod attended a one-room black schoolhouse, walking five miles to and from the school. When she got home, she would teach her parents and siblings what she learned. She then got an opportunity to attend the Moody Bible Institute in 1895, becoming the first African American student to graduate from the school.

She decided then she would become a missionary, sharing what she learned. But, she would be informed that no one wanted or needed a black missionary.

Rather than give up her dreams, she decided more than ever that she would eventually teach.

Flash forward to 1904, when after moving to Florida, she started the Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, which initially had five girls aged six to twelve. With limited resources, she was determined to make the school a success, even when the Ku Klux Klan threatened her. But, eventually she received donations and support from the community, and the school grew to 30 girls by the end of the year.

Booker T. Washington would tell her of the importance of white benefactors to fund her school, so she started traveling and fundraising, receiving donations from John D. Rockefeller and establishing contacts with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt.

Her little school would become even more successful after it merged with a private institute for African-American boys and became known as the Bethune-Cookman School. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942, and 1946 to 1947, becoming one of the few women in the world to serve as a college president at that time.

After she found that one of her students needing medical care was denied the care she needed and was placed on an outside porch of the local white hospital instead of a room with a bed, she used her funding sources and connections to open the first black hospital in Daytona, Florida.

According to the Turning Point Suffragist Memorial Association, McLeod became "one of the 20th century’s most powerful and celebrated advocates for civil rights and suffrage", holding "prominent roles, including president, in the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). She also served as president of the Florida Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, where she fought against school segregation and sought healthcare for black children. Under her leadership, the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) was founded as a unifying voice for African American women’s organizations."

As chapter president of the Florida chapter of the National Association of Colored Women, she would become so well known for her work registering black voters that once again she received threats from the Ku Klux Klan. And, like before, she did not back down.

With her friendship with the Roosevelts, she would become appointed as a national adviser to president Roosevelt, becoming part of what was known as his Black Cabinet and advising him on concerns of black people and would be called the “First Lady of the Struggle”.

When she passed away on May 18, 1955, she was recognized across the country. One newspaper suggested "the story of her life should be taught to every school child for generations to come" and The New York Times noted she was, "one of the most potent factors in the growth of interracial goodwill in America."

In her own words before she died, she wrote:

"I leave you love. I leave you hope. I leave you the challenge of developing confidence in one another. I leave you a thirst for education. I leave you a respect for the use of power. I leave you faith. I leave you racial dignity. I leave you a desire to live harmoniously with your fellow men. I leave you a responsibility to our young people."

“If I have a legacy to leave my people, it is my philosophy of living and serving. I think I have spent my life well. I pray now that my philosophy may be helpful to those who share my vision of a world of Peace, Progress, Brotherhood, and Love.”

Apps for special needs

The Ghosts of Mt. Everest who will never return

Please do not rush through this post. There is a message--several, in fact--that are deeper and more haunting than you may have expected. This is one of the stories of the men and women who will never come back from their attempt to climb Mt. Everest.

A wonderful travel journalist, Peter Jenkins, wrote about his trip to China and eventually, Tibet, where he climbed Mt. Everest. Not to the top--it was not his goal. It was to see how it felt to be on a team that was trying that effort. Along the way, he learned of several stories--including the fate of a woman, Marty Hoey, who was a casualty when she leaned back on her harness--and the knot came undone and she plunged to her death. Her teammates, who were now climbing with Jenkins, could do nothing to save her--and a new knot was later established and named in tribute to her.

I heard this song played by the musician featured here, Danny O'Keefe--and it put a lump in my throat at the show because I remember when the body of Englishman George Leigh Mallory was found. That is his remains face-down in the rocks at 1:49; it was later removed for a proper burial. There are others still on the mountain who remain as horrific reminders of the dangers of trying to reach the summit. This is the story of one of them, and I remember when he died. Thankfully, his body was recovered. Rest in Peace, Rob Hall, now and forever, a Ghost of the Ascent. The lesson(s) are many, but perhaps consider "Just because something can be done may mean it should NOT be done."

There-their-they're is spelled this way

(I would also add to this, "It's not there. Take off the 'T' and "HERE it is!")

Petra, the ancient red stone city, hand-carved and hidden

Grammarly--it works, and you need the expertise

Your writing, at its best. Grammarly makes sure everything you type is easy to read, effective, and mistake-free. http://grammarly.com

I don't get paid for endorsements, but I promise this product is far better than MS-Word's spell-check and grammar-checker.

Idioms: phrases that don't make common sense

To me, idioms are phrases or statements that don't make common sense. They are often found locally and regionally--that is, certain people from certain areas have their own kinds and sayings. Idioms are especially hard for people who are learning English because the idea or statement gives a VERY wrong impression.

Example: I once said to a college class that "I had a tiger by the tail." As an idiom, that means I had found myself in a difficult situation.

After class, a lady from India came up to speak with me.

"Mr. Lopate, how come you are not dead? Why didn't the tiger kill you for pulling its tail?"

When I got my sense of awareness back after trying not to laugh, I understood what she meant.

In India, only a foolish person would dare such a thing--and surely be dead as a result!

She didn't know the phrase was common in the U.S., and I had to explain it as an idiom.

Infinite patterns of math and nature

In memory (2012) of the man who loved elephants

Wild elephants gather inexplicably, mourn death of "Elephant Whisperer"

Author and legendary conservationist Lawrence Anthony died March 7, 2012. His family tells of a solemn procession on March 10 that defies human explanation

For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who saved their lives.

The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a few years ago as pests, were rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had grown up in the bush and was known as the “Elephant Whisperer.”

For two days the herds loitered at Anthony’s rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu – to say good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died March 7?

Known for his unique ability to calm traumatized elephants, Anthony had become a legend.  He is the author of three books, Baghdad Ark, detailing his efforts to rescue the animals at Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi war, the forthcoming The Last Rhinos, and his bestselling The Elephant Whisperer.

There are two elephant herds at Thula Thula. According to his son Dylan, both arrived at the Anthony family compound shortly after Anthony’s death.

“They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey,”  Dylan is quoted in various local news accounts. “The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before  making their way back into the bush.”

Elephants have long been known to mourn their dead. In India, baby elephants often are raised with a boy who will be their lifelong “mahout.” The pair develop legendary bonds – and it is not uncommon for one to waste away without a will to live after the death of the other.

But these are wild elephants in the 21st century, not some Rudyard Kipling novel.

The first herd to arrive at Thula Thula several years ago were violent. They hated humans. Anthony found himself fighting a desperate battle for their survival and their trust, which he detailed in The Elephant Whisperer:

“It was 4:45 a.m. and I was standing in front of Nana, an enraged wild elephant, pleading with her in desperation. Both our lives depended on it. The only thing separating us was an 8,000-volt electric fence that she was preparing to flatten and make her escape.

“Nana, the matriarch of her herd, tensed her enormous frame and flared her ears.

“’Don’t do it, Nana,’ I said, as calmly as I could. She stood there, motionless but tense. The rest of the herd froze.

“’This is your home now,’ I continued. ‘Please don’t do it, girl.’

I felt her eyes boring into me.

“’They’ll kill you all if you break out. This is your home now. You have no need to run any more.’

“Suddenly, the absurdity of the situation struck me,” Anthony writes. “Here I was in pitch darkness, talking to a wild female elephant with a baby, the most dangerous possible combination, as if we were having a friendly chat. But I meant every word. ‘You will all die if you go. Stay here. I will be here with you and it’s a good place.’

“She took another step forward. I could see her tense up again, preparing to snap the electric wire and be out, the rest of the herd smashing after her in a flash.

“I was in their path, and would only have seconds to scramble out of their way and climb the nearest tree. I wondered if I would be fast enough to avoid being trampled. Possibly not.

“Then something happened between Nana and me, some tiny spark of recognition, flaring for the briefest of moments. Then it was gone. Nana turned and melted into the bush. The rest of the herd followed. I couldn’t explain what had happened between us, but it gave me the first glimmer of hope since the elephants had first thundered into my life.”

It had all started several weeks earlier with a phone call from an elephant welfare organization. Would Anthony be interested in adopting a problem herd of wild elephants? They lived on a game reserve 600 miles away and were “troublesome,” recalled Anthony.

“They had a tendency to break out of reserves and the owners wanted to get rid of them fast. If we didn’t take them, they would be shot.

“The woman explained, ‘The matriarch is an amazing escape artist and has worked out how to break through electric fences. She just twists the wire around her tusks until it snaps, or takes the pain and smashes through.’

“’Why me?’ I asked.

“’I've heard you have a way with animals. You’re right for them. Or maybe they’re right for you.’”

What followed was heart-breaking. One of the females and her baby were shot and killed in the round-up, trying to evade capture.

“When they arrived, they were thumping the inside of the trailer like a gigantic drum. We sedated them with a pole-sized syringe, and once they had calmed down, the door slid open and the matriarch emerged, followed by her baby bull, three females and an 11-year-old bull.”

Last off was the 15-year-old son of the dead mother. “He stared at us,” writes Anthony, “flared his ears and with a trumpet of rage, charged, pulling up just short of the fence in front of us.

“His mother and baby sister had been shot before his eyes, and here he was, just a teenager, defending his herd. David, my head ranger, named him Mnumzane, which in Zulu means ‘Sir.’ We christened the matriarch Nana, and the second female-in-command, the most feisty, Frankie, after my wife.

“We had erected a giant enclosure within the reserve to keep them safe until they became calm enough to move out into the reserve proper.

“Nana gathered her clan, loped up to the fence and stretched out her trunk, touching the electric wires. The 8,000-volt charge sent a jolt shuddering through her bulk. She backed off. Then, with her family in tow, she strode the entire perimeter of the enclosure, pointing her trunk at the wire to check for vibrations from the electric current.

“As I went to bed that night, I noticed the elephants lining up along the fence, facing out towards their former home. It looked ominous. I was woken several hours later by one of the reserve’s rangers, shouting, ‘The elephants have gone! They’ve broken out!’ The two adult elephants had worked as a team to fell a tree, smashing it onto the electric fence and then charging out of the enclosure.

“I scrambled together a search party and we raced to the border of the game reserve, but we were too late. The fence was down and the animals had broken out.

“They had somehow found the generator that powered the electric fence around the reserve. After trampling it like a tin can, they had pulled the concrete-embedded fence posts out of the ground like matchsticks, and headed north.”

The reserve staff chased them – but had competition.

“We met a group of locals carrying large caliber rifles, who claimed the elephants were ‘fair game’ now. On our radios we heard the wildlife authorities were issuing elephant rifles to staff. It was now a simple race against time.”

Anthony managed to get the herd back onto Thula Thula property, but problems had just begun:

“Their bid for freedom had, if anything, increased their resentment at being kept in captivity. Nana watched my every move, hostility seeping from every pore, her family behind her. There was no doubt that sooner or later they were going to make another break for freedom.

“Then, in a flash, came the answer. I would live with the herd. To save their lives, I would stay with them, feed them, talk to them. But, most importantly, be with them day and night. We all had to get to know each other.”

It worked, as the book describes in detail, notes the London Daily Mail newspaper.

Anthony was later offered another troubled elephant – one that was all alone because the rest of her herd had been shot or sold, and which feared humans. He had to start the process all over again.

And as his reputation spread, more “troublesome” elephants were brought to Thula Thula.

So, how after Anthony’s death, did the reserve’s elephants — grazing miles away in distant parts of the park — know?

“A good man died suddenly,” says Rabbi Leila Gal Berner, Ph.D., “and from miles and miles away, two herds of elephants, sensing that they had lost a beloved human friend, moved in a solemn, almost ‘funereal’ procession to make a call on the bereaved family at the deceased man’s home."

“If there ever were a time, when we can truly sense the wondrous ‘interconnectedness of all beings,’ it is when we reflect on the elephants of Thula Thula. A man’s heart’s stops, and hundreds of elephants’ hearts are grieving. This man’s oh-so-abundantly loving heart offered healing to these elephants, and now, they came to pay loving homage to their friend.”

Alice Cooper's Teen Center for Kids & Art/Music/Dance

https://www.alicecoopersolidrock.com/teen-center/

A musician has opened a place for young people to LEARN and GROW in a safe environment--at his own expense. His facility offers a chance and a choice for teens to fulfill their talents and potentials, and to gather together and share common interests, goals, and support. And free smoothies and donuts!

COME DISCOVER YOUR TALENT!

The Rock Teen Center inspires teens (12-20) to grow through music, dance and art. We provide vocational training in sound and recording, lighting and staging, video production, as well as a computer lab and a cool, supervised facility for the teens to engage with their peers. In a time where public schools are cutting funding for empowering programs like music, dance and art, The Rock cultivates a love of the arts to inspire and challenge teens to embrace artistic excellence and reach their full potential.

The Teen Center is FREE and open to all teens 12-20 years old Monday through Friday from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm. 13625 N. 32nd St., Phx, AZ 85032.
Call 602-522-9200 for additional info.

Both the Code of Conduct and Membership Form need to be completed and brought with you on your first day to The Rock.

Multiplication table with squares

Thesis, topic sentences, and essay example

Planning a Successful Tent Camping Trip

Each year, thousands of people throughout the United States choose to spend their vacations camping in the great outdoors.  With the great diversity of environments available, campers are not limited to woods, but can experience the challenges of deserts, mountains, and high latitude wilderness.  Depending on an individual’s sense of adventure, choices also include types of camping too:  log cabin, tent, recreational vehicle, and open-air sleeping bag.  Of these, tent camping involves the most opportunities for “roughing it”, and with proper planning, the experience can be satisfying and memorable.  However, even with the best planning, tent camping can be an extremely frustrating effort due to uncontrolled factors such as bad weather, wildlife encounters, equipment failures—and a camper’s life and well-being. Failing to plan properly for tent camping can prove uncomfortable as well as deadly. (instructor note: that’s the thesis.)

(Topic sentence #1) Nothing can dampen the excitement and anticipation of tent camping more than a dark, rainy day. Even the most adventurous campers can lose some of their enthusiasm on the drive or hike to a planned campsite if the skies are dreary and damp.  After reaching the destination, campers must then “set up” in wet conditions that may make for poor decisions and results.  It is vital to keep the inside of the tent dry and free from mud or rock- slides, keeping sleeping bags safe, and protecting any food from exposure.  If sleeping bags happen to get wet, the cold also becomes a major factor and difficulty: a dry sleeping bag provides warmth and protection; a wet bag means chills and no sleep.  Combining wind and rain can cause frigid temperatures that cause outside activities to be delayed or cancelled.  Even inside the tent, problems may arise from heavy winds.  More than a few campers have had tents blown down because of wind, leaving them exposed to the elements and struggling to reestablish a safe and secure tent.  Therefore, it is wise to check the weather forecast before embarking on a camping trip: Mother Nature is unpredictable and a compromised tent and its security cannot be overlooked.

(Topic Sentence #2) Another unexpected problem likely to be faced during a camping trip: run-ins with wildlife, ranging from mildly annoying to extremely dangerous.  Minor inconveniences include mosquitoes, chiggers, biting flies, and ants.  The swarms of mosquitoes can literally drive annoyed campers indoors.  If an effective repellent is not used, an unprepared camper can spend an unpleasant long night scratching and not sleeping.  In the northern-most states near the Canadian border, tiny black flies can inflict painful bites that torment animals as well as humans.  Ants normally do not attack campers, but keeping them out of food can be quite an effort.  Extreme care must be taken not to leave food out before or after meals—and that includes cleaning up afterward.  Food should optimally be stored off the ground (suspended from a tree limb away from the tent).  In addition to swarming the food, ants inside a tent can crawl into sleeping bags, shoes, and clothing.  Although these creatures (especially insects) can cause various levels of discomfort, just as dangerous are spiders, snakes, scorpions, and centipedes.  There are many poisonous snakes in the U.S., such as rattlers, copperheads, water moccasins, and coral.  However, the large animals in a camping area should be the main concern for anyone in a tent—especially with food storage. Animal behavior in the wild can be deadly, especially from a bear, mountain lion, or moose.  An angry moose cow can stand 9 feet tall and weigh 1200 pounds, moving incredibly fast and furious if she defends a calf.  Her hooves and heavy antlers can kill a bear, let alone a human.  Bear sows too will chase down and attack humans who stray near cubs—and many foolish campers who wander upon “a cute little thing” are foolish to assume the mother is only silently observing—and not timing an attack.

(Topic Sentence #3) Perhaps the least serious camping troubles are equipment failures; these often plague inexperienced families camping for the first time.  Picture this: a family of five arrives at the campsite for the night and set up their large tent.  They then settle down for a peaceful night’s rest.  Then sometime during the night, a huge crash awakens them: a tree limb has come down during a downpour and collapsed one side of the tent.  Luckily, no one is hurt—but in the morning, everyone slowly emerges, stiff and wet—except for two, whose sleeping bag zippers are stuck.  They are freed after 15 minutes of struggling, only to realize that each of their bags has been directly against the tent walls.  A tent is waterproof only if the sides are not touched.  Now their clothes and sleeping bags are wet.  Totally disillusioned with the “vacation,” the frustrated family packs up immediately and goes home. 

What options are there? Regardless of animals, weather, or equipment, poor planning and decisions can be the ruin of any camping endeavor, especially in a tent.  A sense of humor can actually be a needed tool.  The bugs will still outnumber us, the animals naturally live outdoors, and anyone who can control the weather will have an Olympic-sized job.  So, pack that gear and keep an eye out for whatever comes your way, fellow campers—and may your socks be dry and the path safe.

Vocabulary can save your life! (joke)

How the Platypus got its strange...parts: a children's book

Poor Platypus from Australia is afraid of Mr. Dingo-dog and his kind because they hunt all kinds of animals. And Platypus has no kind of defense! So he asks his friends for advice and help.

But Mr. Ostrich has long legs and can run fast, and Mrs. Kangaroo can jump far away very quickly, and wise Brother Koala hides in a tree which no one else likes to eat—and poor Platypus has nothing!

So Platypus asks Mother Nature for help—but there’s a problem! See, Platypus keeps asking for more and more and more! And he won’t stop—until Mother Nature is mad because he wants too much! And that’s why poor Platypus now is “the creature that is half-animal and half-bird,” and everyone thinks he is the strangest-looking thing in Australia!

Here is the first, “original story” from the aboriginal people of Australia about the origins of this strange animal, and also a new, “original story” by me and my fascination for the platypus.

How the Platypus....

You're a Terror, Bird! - the prehistoric 10-foot predator in South America