The Grade I Deserve for English

What grade do I think I deserve for English? Well, 1 grade that I know I am
nowhere near is an F because an F means that you hardly did any work at all, and I
DO work. But honestly, I think I deserve an A/B, but most likely, I’ll end up with a B because I do my all my work.

Mr. Romero, I believe you should make my grade a B. I have always been an A-B student. I have never received anything lower than a B in Reading/English class. I have always made good grades in this subject. I’m not saying I’m perfect, but I always put my best effort into my work.

English is one of the subjects that keeps my attention while I’m in class. I always try to stay focused and prepared. I have turned in all of my assignments to you this whole year and I have also learned a lot in your class. For example, I’ve learned what pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs are. I also learned how to make better, organized charts and I learned more about conflicts, setting, plot, characters, and conclusions.

Now Mr. Romero, you know that I have always been a very respectful student to both you and my classmates but I also know that I lack in my participation skills. This is something I am going to work on for the rest of the year.

I really want an A/B in your class. When I get my report card, I would like to have all A/B’s in all of my classes. I want to have all passing grades because I want to make my parents proud of what I’ve accomplished in my first year of high school.

The Life of Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou














Kenya McQueen
January 15, 2008
English





Maya Angelou was born as the name Marguerite Ann Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Her parents were Bailey Johnson and Vivian Baxter-Johnson. Marguerite was named “Maya” because her older brother Bailey Jr. gave her that nickname and her last name came from her ex-husband Tosh Angelos.

Maya was a quiet girl who went “mute” for nearly five years. She thought that if she spoke, her “mouth would just issue out something that would kill people, randomly, so it was better not to talk”. Maya didn’t have a great childhood. Her mother and father broke up their marriage and she was sexually abused and raped by her mother’s boyfriend at age eight. At age eighteen, she wrote her first autobiography called I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. After this book was published, it catapulted her to international fame and critical acclaim. In 1973, she remarried to Paul du Feu and moved with him and her son to Sonoma, California which is where her most productive years as a writer and a poet came.
Not only was Maya Angelou an excellent poet and writer, but she was also a playwright, producer, and a director. She published seven autobiographies, four children’s books, about fifteen poems or more, and wrote six plays. One of the most influential poems that Maya wrote was Phenomenal Woman: Four Poems for Women. This poem is describing how beautiful and powerful black women are. This poem had affected a lot of African-American women from the past and today. Maya Angelou also met writers who were in the Civil Rights Movement. She also became close friends with Malcolm X. After his assassination, Martin Luther King, Jr. requested her to become the Northern Coordinator Southern Christian Leadership Conferences. Ms. Angelou also appeared on talk shows like Oprah Winfrey’s show, and she also became very popular from her public speaking.
People should know that Maya Angelou was a phenomenal woman. She has received 62 awards and 37 honorary degrees. She has inspired so many people now. To me, the most impressive thing that she has done was win so many awards. To me, that means that she has really made a difference in people’s lives and that people really appreciate the things she has done.
Maya Angelou has inspired me to be able to write poems. Ever since I was younger, I’ve wanted to be like Maya Angelou and write a lot of poems like her because they were so powerful. Lat year, one of my classmates said that I write great stories. So hopefully in the future, I am able to write a poem or story that will affect people, just the way Maya Angelou’s poems did.

Controversial Topic- Pornography

Now most people would feel uncomfortable talking about this topic, but actually, this is a very interesting topic to talk about. I don't think pornography is good, or bad (just so you know, I don't watch porn). I think that porn has it's good qualities and its bad qualities. For some people, porn can be good. Let's say that you (a older male) have been married for a while and your "not as good" as you used to be when you were younger. Well watching a porn video can make you better because it can show you different moves you can do. But, porn also is bad because sometimes when you watch porn to much, you can become addicted to it. If you are married and you start to become addicted to porn, it can possibly ruin your relationship. So, do I think that pornography is bad?????Well, like I said, I don't think its good, or bad, but it's something that can either help your love life, or destroy it.

Should Huckleberry Finn Be Taught In School???

I think that Huckleberry Finn should be taught in school, but taught to a higher grade level. I don't think Huck Finn should be taught to a ninth grade class because not a lot of ninth graders might be interested in this kind of old book. Some actually enjoyed Huck Finn, but some other ninth graders either didn't really understand the book, or just didn't find it interesting. If a tenth or eleventh grade class read Huck Finn, they might enjoy it more because they might comprehend it a little more then a ninth grader.Honestly, I think the book is a tiny bit boring. I had a hard time comprehending the story. But after I watched the movie, I understood the book more. so, I do think Huck Finn should be taught in school, but I just think it should be taught in a higher grade level because I think that a higher grade might understand the story more.