5/4/2018 0 Comments So what? In Between Shades of Gray the Vilkas family is taken from their home by the Soviets and is separated from their father. They are later put in many labor camps where Lina meets other characters including Andrius which they later work/stick together. At the ending of Between Shades of Gray when they are taken to a different camp and after Lina’s mother had died, hope in the camp had started to fall. People including Lina’s brother, Jonas had started to get sick and there wasn't much to heal them with but at that moment a medic had discovered the camp and how poorly they were treated. He healed them and improved the conditions in the camp, but how did he find them? The answer was Nikolai Kretzsky the NKVD guard. After talking to Lina, he realized he couldn’t watch them suffer anymore so he sent help.
With a new hope that had reached the people in the camp, Lina knew that she could find Andruis and was determined. In the epilogue, a buried letter written by Lina states that she and Andrius found each other and got married and that they want their story to stay alive so people can see what it was really like to be affected. This book is important because it shows a part of WW2 that no one really talked about. Before reading this I never knew of the invasion of Lithuania and all the displaced Europeans and it has opened my eyes to show that the war was much bigger than we think. On page 322 when Lina is arguing with Mr. Stalas who has given up, she says “You always talk about death and of us killing ourselves. Haven't you figured it out? We’re not interested in dying” and on page 336 when hope is now back in her, she remembers a moment with Andrius before they were separated when he said “I’ll see you” and she responded “Yes I will see you, I will”. This shows that even after all the loss and hardships Lina had gone through she still stays very determined and I think that is a valuable idea. Even through hard times don’t give up, find something to fight for and choose love as the better choice. And finally you may be thinking, so what? You may think that it happened and it is in the past but that’s where you're wrong. Since WW2 many events have occurred causing displacement of families and cruel treatments and they are still happening today like in Syria. This shows us that we keeping repeating the same mistakes even after we know what the consequences will be. As long as there is loss on either side there will never be winners in war.
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During 1941(later years too) in the book ‘Between Shades of Gray’ and during the real-life invasion, Lithuanians were being taken and forced into labor camps that were very cruel, as prisoners. Now over 75 years later countries continue to repeat this terrible history. In Syria families are forced to leave their homes and go into camps along the outskirts of Syria in which they are prisoners in because they are not allowed to leave. In 1941 during the invasion families had to leave behind all possessions and were mostly separated from their families which also relates to what is going on now in Syria. Also the bad conditions of the camps relate to the conditions in the camps people were placed in during the events in the book/real life. The camps in Syria had very unclean water, lack of medical care, rising temperatures and not enough food. Because of this people got ill and died a lot so people started calling them death camps. In my opinion I feel like the idea of camps came/influenced from WW2. http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/syrian-refugees-forced-flee-death-camps-705837072 4/19/2018 4 Comments Historical Connections The book I am reading is titled "Between Shades of Gray" which is set in WW2. In 1941 the Soviet Union had invaded Lithuania and had taken people out of homes to deport them to camps in different areas during WW2. In the book Between Shades of Gray Lina and her family were taken from their home along with several other families on June 14th 1941 and got sent to a camp in Siberia. This also took place in real world where more than 130,000 Lithuanians were deported from June 14 to June 18, 1941. 70% being women and children. Another point in history when people were being deported was the Mexican Repatriation where Mexicans were forced out of there homes in the U.S which was a cruel time for them. Another comparison was when Lina and her family were put to work in the Altai camp in beet fields. This compares to the labor camps that were placed for prisoners to do things that were hard and tiring like working in fields with little to no food each day.
Lithuanian citizens that were caught up in the war often thought it was cruel, the torturing/killing and separation from their families. It was also very confusing and upsetting when they were taken out of their homes not knowing why. In the beginning of the book the NKVD had come in to Lina’s house and told them they had 20 minutes to pack or they would be killed. “I had no idea what was going on. Were we being arrested? We didn't do anything wrong this must be a misunderstanding” Lina was very confused and frantic like many others on why families were being arrested, not knowing what cruel things will come which they later face profusely throughout the book. Some things that are in the book and in real world that are similar is when Lina watches as families get split apart and when her family is split from her father. This was common during the deportation, men were mostly taken separately from their families. Another comparison was when someone disobeyed the NKVD or got out of the car when being deported they were beaten and sometimes killed. “We all cringed with each gunshot or scream. No one dared leave the car again.” This compares to the mass murders/massacres and uncalled torture of their people during the war. 2/1/2018 0 Comments MentoringBy Nicole Pinto, Miles Shaw, Gia Agrawal, and Tyler Murray Our issue that we are focusing on is that a lot of children lack they guidance and support that they need. Kids in our community need more mentors and role models because it is a tough and confusing world. They need someone to look up to and help make a difference in their lives. They might struggle with homework or just not have anyone to play with and things as simple as this can cause bigger issues down the road. Sometimes all these kids need is a sibling or a friend to be there for them. We are interested in this issue for various reasons. When kids are young and don’t get the support they need it effects them not only when they are young but also when they get older. It affects them mentally because when they were younger they didn’t have anyone to teach them life skills and it can be tough when they get into the real world. We also believe that others should take part in helping them because the more people that help the bigger the difference it can make in someone’s life. Whatever size the difference we make it is always a start. Lack of Guidance The issue that we are facing is about how children have lack of guidance and support. This affects a lot of kids in our community. The ages that are affected are mostly eighteen and under but sometimes people older can be affected to. Even if it affects older people, it isn’t as common as it normally is with them than with younger ones. This has always been an issue in our society that has been getting worse over time and has just recently been acknowledged. If a child does not have a mentor it can affect their social life and growth and development. According to mentoring.org one in three people grow up without a mentor. There can be many causes of a child’s lack of guidance or skills for life. Children growing up without parents or with only one parent, kids whose parents work a lot and they don’t get the attention they need, or kids who use technology too much are all reasons for this issue. “Overuse of electronic devices may cause impairment in the development of a child’s social skills.” (Ortiz 2017) Lack of attention can affect them greatly in school and in life “According to the Michigan Department of Education, parents who take the time to read or help with homework have children who are better adjusted at school.” (Diranian 2014) If a child grows up without the help that they had needed it can cause stress, confusion and hardships. How Mentoring Can Help Right now, there are several organizations out there that are already addressing this issue. Some of those organizations are Boys and Girls Club of America, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of America (BBBSA), and many more. “Sometimes the best thing a child can have is a friend. An adult to look up to, speak with on a personal level and confide in, and who can help with everyday things. Big Brothers Big Sisters is on a mission to inspire children’s passions and encourage them to achieve success in life.” (BBBSA 2018) These organizations have been around for a long time and have a determination to help. Even if we have many organizations helping this issue, there is still a need for help and assistance and there are still many things we can do. A lot of parents don’t know about all the help that is available for their kids and we can help inform them and spread the word. We can also volunteer in schools which lack a program to help their students. And even helping out with a kid that can be your neighbor or family friend can still be useful. some mentoring organizations have a lack of funding and without money the group can't do their work and mentor. If you are not someone that likes to volunteer donating still makes a difference. We encourage people to help out in this issue in their community. Our Plan To help out with this issue we plan to inform parents and kids about help that they can get, and volunteer at Lacy Elementary. Our first step is to create a poster to put around the school. Our group will be doing this and we would require a laptop to type the information for the poster and a printer and paper to print them. The outcome would be that students can know that there is help out there if they need it. Next, we gather around 13 to 15 people and walk to Lacy Elementary where we will help some Kindergarteners with work and help them feel more comfortable with us being there. After this we will go outside and play games like cross the ocean, 4 corners, and infection with them so they can be relaxed and feel like their age. We encourage people to help out with this issue. There are many reasons why you should help, like it will be something that not only helps them but helps us have fun in the process. When we help these kids it makes a bigger difference in their life than we might think. It also helps us think differently and changes the way we may look at problems that seem small but in reality are bigger than we think. In the end we both Benefit from this. We have a goal in completing this activity. Our group’s goal is to help kids be more informed about what help they can get and that they shouldn’t be scared to ask about for it. We also want to help kids feel comfortable in themselves and their work. We want to make a difference in their lives. We will know we have accomplished our goal if the they are having fun, are happy and feel more comfortable. Bibliography “How to Prevent 7 Common Problems in Mentoring Programs.” Insala. 4/26/13. 1/25/18< http://www.insala.com/Articles/Mentoring/how-to-prevent-7-common-problems-in-mentoring-programs.asp > Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. “MISSION: change children’s lives.” bbbs. Military-Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.1/22/18<http://www.bbbs.org/military/> Boys & Girls Club of America. “Club Impact.”bgca. 1/25/18< https://www.bgca.org/> “ 7 ways mentoring can help career development.” Management Mentors. 9/20/13. 1/31/18.<http://www.management-mentors.com/about/corporate-mentoring-matters-blog/bid/100754/7-Ways-Mentoring-Can-Help-Career-Development > “ what is the role of a mentor?.” Do It. 11/30/17. 1/30/18 <https://www.washington.edu/doit/what-role-mentor > Ortiz, Adrianne Albarado. “Sound of mind: Negative effects of technology in children.” Standard times. 4/19/17. 1/29/18. <http://www.gosanangelo.com/story/life/wellness/2017/04/19/sound-mind-negative-effects-technology-children/99872132/> Diranian, Susan. “ how does lack of parenting at home affect a children’s grades at school?” Livestrong. 2/6/14. <https://www.livestrong.com/article/537890-how-does-lack-of-parenting-at-home-affect-childrens-grades-in-school/> 1/14/2018 1 Comment Homelessness One of our issues we have is homelessness. The homeless struggle everyday to find jobs, a place to stay and to support their family. They also have to survive outdoors in freezing cold to blazing hot temperatures which can harm them and make them very sick. Right now there are tons of people that are homeless. In our community there are places where you can donate items and money to them. I am interested in this because it is such a big issue that people tend to overlook it and it is terrible that people have to live like this in such bad conditions.
Homelessness effects not only them but also us. It can cause spread of disease because they don't have the money to take care of themselves causing them to get sick which then spreads to people. Homelessness also has an economic impact because operating and maintaining homeless shelters, day centers, homeless medical services and so on are very costly. This is an issue we should all care about , not only because it has a wide effect on many people but this issue takes the lives of many people living on the streets everyday. It has been an issue for many many years and it will continue to be one if we all keep ignoring it. There are many things we can do to help like volunteering, donating money, food, items and clothing. 11/7/2017 0 Comments This I Believe By Nicole Pinto Every Fall the temperature starts to drop, leaves change color, people start to get excited over something in starbucks and the leaves fall. Those colorful leaves fall in my backyard and all the other backyards across america and that’s the problem, or at least that’s what people like my mom seem to think. As soon as the first leaf touches the tips of the semi green grass in my backyard a rake just “randomly” appears in the doorway of my room. What’s the point of raking leaves, I just don’t believe it’s worth our time.
When my mom tells me to do something I do it because she is my mom and trust me I’d rather wrestle a tiger than get on her bad side. Legend has it the last bad encounter with her didn’t go too well. Just kidding, but still never give mom’s a reason to be a bad cop. So I walk outside with my rusted 20 year old rake in my hand and as soon as I opened the door the cold breeze slaps me in the face sending shivers down my spine and I think to myself “this is going to be fun, just fun.” Standing on my porch I looked down at my backyard covered in piles of leaves and I immediately had the urge to say “nope” and walk back inside to my warm bed, but I didn’t. After 5 minutes of staring at my backyard, I finally force myself to start my task. The dead leaves crunch under my shoes as I walk over them and rake them into a pile. And I don’t understand why people like to jump into the pile, how is that even fun? In my past experience the leaves were always wet and just made me even more cold than I already was, they always had something hard in there like a stick or a rock, and to add to all of that you never know what's hiding in that pile. Last time I jumped in a pile of leaves I was inches away from being bit by a snake. Sorry if I ruined your future jumping experiences. Well anyways after raking my first pile, I looked around and noticed that I had only finished less than a fourth of my yard. Great! I got back to raking and after a while my fingers and toes were numb but the good thing was my backyard was almost done and then I could run back into my warm room. When I was raking my last pile, out of nowhere, my neighbor comes running full speed straight into my backyard and do you know what she does, no? Well, then let me tell you. SHE JUMPS IN MY LAST PILE OF LEAVES! I watch in horror as my perfect pile of leaves fly in every direction , I almost faint. I want to yell at her, but she was younger than me and I knew she would just go tell her mom, so I take a deep breath and start raking again. Finally I was done and walked back inside and collapsed on my couch. When I woke up the next morning I started to walk downstairs to eat my breakfast, and I passed a window overlooking my backyard I was in disbelief. Unbelievable, the leaves were back, those evil leaves. I thought for a second, maybe I was reliving the past, but no it was all real. The leaves had returned to haunt me. It happened again, my mom told me to rake the leaves. And then I lost it, why should I rake the leaves, they're just going to come back again tomorrow and then the day after, it's just a waste of time. And aren’t leaves good for the soil once they decompose? Well I ended up raking the leaves anyways. I feel like my mom doesn’t want to admit I’m right. But no matter how many times I rake the leaves I will always believe that it is a waste of my time. |
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