9th Grade Golden Apples 2011

2

Contents An Excerpt from Technology Takeover By Daniel M. Page 3 A True Terrorist By Sophia M.

Page 4 The Good Old Days By Taylor S.

Page 7 A Letter to Future Teachers By Jason K.

Page 9 We Dream By Matthew W.

Page 12 Sally Hansen By Olivia Lo

Page 13 Grandma’s House By Emma W.

Page 14 Dylan Peters By Norm M.

Page 15

3

An Excerpt from Technology Takeover By Daniel M.

Many modern electronic games are based on violent or

inappropriate actions. Normally this would not be a problem because older

people, who understand why the game is rated Mature, are playing it.

However, when a ten-year-old kid, who shouldn’t be playing the game

anyway, becomes obsessed with violently goring zombies, I think there’s a

problem. The problem is that in many cases parents are not monitoring

what game their child is playing. Video game designers have no problem

with this. All they need to do is get a person addicted to their game, and

then they can rest assured that this person will purchase the game’s

sequel, a game eerily similar to the first. From what I understand, the

games Grand Theft Auto and Grand Theft Auto 2 are almost exactly the

same. All you have to do is run around, beat people up, and steal their

car! For the life of me, I cannot understand how anyone would find this

appealing in the first place. Yet every day, another thousand or so people

log on to see if they can go up another level by stealing a couple more

cars. The perfect life skill we want kids to learn!

4

A True Terrorist

By Sophia M.

Since the attacks on September 11th, Muslims have been discriminated

against. Members of al Qaeda, who were Muslim, committed the attacks.

And since then, a Muslim man or woman has become, what many people

think of, as a terrorist. Now when someone sees a man with a turban, or

a woman in a burqa, they will almost always think, ‘terrorist.’ That is

discrimination.

9/11 was a tragic event, but the actions of those terrorists should

not be affecting how anyone of the same race or religion is treated.

These innocent men and women, whether they are American citizens or

not, deserve to be respected and not feel like they have to hide their

religion or ethnicity.

In an interview on Fox News, Juan Williams, a correspondent for NPR,

now fired, said, “…When I get on a plane, I got to tell you, when I see

people in Muslim garb, and I think they’re identifying themselves first and

foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.” Let’s be honest with

ourselves—the last time you saw a man of darker skin with a turban and a

beard, I’m sure you felt at least a little uncomfortable. When you ask

almost anyone to draw a terrorist, they would probably draw a man or

woman in Muslim garb. Though very few people will admit it, that is who

we have come to think of as a terrorist.

My last name, Mobayed, is Arabic, because my great-grandparents

were from Syria, and it is a surname that many people would associate

with Muslims. Because of that, when my sister or I go to airports our

5

bags always get ‘randomly’ checked. When I visited the White House this

past May, I was asked additional questions compared to the people who

had gone through security before me, for them to secure my identity as a

harmless American citizen. I had heard of discrimination, but had never

before felt it first hand. I look nothing like our perception of the

stereotypical Muslim, and yet because of my last name, I am treated as a

suspect. I would never do anything to harm our country, but because of

my last name, I was treated as if that was my intention. There is nothing

wrong with being cautious, but the same precautions should be taken

with everyone, not just the people who in some form resemble Muslims.

We need to realize that anyone could be a terrorist. It does not

matter how they look, or what their name is. A terrorist is someone who

aims to hurt a country because they have some sort of resentment

against that country. A terrorist has thoughts of death and destruction.

And wearing Muslim garb, or having Muslim faith, does not cause or

encourage these thoughts. Anyone could think this way, no matter where

they’re from or what their religion is.

By identifying a terrorist as a Muslim, we feel more secure because we

know what to fear. However, nothing suggests that all or any Muslims, or

people of the Middle East in general, supported the actions of al Qaeda.

So why is it that we have come to hate and fear 25% of the earth’s

population? Muslims, or people who resemble Muslims, are human beings.

They should not be treated as outcasts in our world. They should not be

discriminated against, and they deserve just as much respect as everyone

else.

6

Imagine what it is like to be a Muslim who chooses to wear the

traditional Hijab in America today. Imagine the eyes full of fear staring

you down almost everywhere you go. Imagine living in a world where very

few people trust you, or feel safe around you. This stereotype was

brought upon by our fear. And if it has not already, this fear will lead to

completely unnecessary hatred. I ask you now to see past the

stereotypes and no longer fear Muslims, because even though I only have

the name of a Muslim, the taste I got of the discrimination faced by them

every day is nothing anyone should feel.

7

The Good Old Days

By Taylor S.

As we grow up, play time turns into homework time, time-outs turn

into detention, and the game “house” turns into life. Our thoughts are no

longer preoccupied about our latest fantasy about being a princess locked

in a tower, but filled with concerns about both the un-started paper and

project due tomorrow. And you can forget nap time, we are lucky if we

even get seven hours of sleep per night. So tell me, what’s the fun in

growing up?

When I was six, most of my days consisted of watching Dragon

Tails and Rocket Power and playing in my tree house. I could take naps

whenever I was tired and did not have a care in the world. But now at the

age of fourteen, I wake up at six every morning to go to school for seven

hours, then come home where I would do two hours of homework, go to

bed, then repeat the process all over again. Life was much simpler when

my only real inconvenience was trying to get out of bath time.

When I was seven, all I wanted to do was grow up so people would

not treat me like a kid anymore. I wanted to be able to cross the street

without holding my mom’s hand or have a bedtime after eight o’clock. I

wanted my license so I could drive wherever I wanted and to be able to

watch PG-13 movies. It’s funny how back then I wanted to grow up, but

now I want to be a little kid again. I didn’t appreciate what I had as kid,

and maybe I don’t appreciate what I have as a teenager.

I always hear adults mutter the phrase, “What I wouldn’t do to be

sixteen again”, which confuses me. Why wish to be sixteen with all the

8

drama and pressure when you could go back to the carefree days of being

six? But I guess being a teenager is better than being an adult. I don’t

have to pay taxes or bills, have a permanent job, or raise a family of my

own. Maybe when I’m sixty-five, I will wish for being sixteen again, too.

Maybe life is easier when looking back. The struggles of fifth grade

and the homework of sixth grade do not seem so bad from ninth grade.

And when we are in college, having snow days and riding the bus will seem

like a dream. I just wish I knew how good I had it back when I wanted to

grow up. If only we could start old though, and grow younger. Then

maybe we would learn to appreciate things when we have them.

9

A Letter to Future Teachers

By Jason K.

Dear Future Teachers,

As a student I felt it was fair to warn you...about me! Not that I am

dangerous or aggressive, in fact I’m quite docile and timid for that matter,

but I must warn you nonetheless. In time I have noticed that I get

distracted from time to time, but only if I’m not engaged in the class; I

take neat and detailed notes, but if during class there is a Q and A, please

call on me! Please I beg of you! I like to answer questions and be helpful,

but if I raise my hand thirty times and you don’t call on me I’m going to

get bored and daydream for the rest of class about robots having a

firefight in the corridor of a space ship.

Secondly, please write your notes on the board, don’t just assume

I’m taking notes as you lecture the class on the lymphatic system; I’m a

student, not a courtroom dictator. Three, I’m not a textbook kind of guy.

If you assign pages 268-295 The Cold War Crisis in our book, I’m not

going to do it unless you assign some sort of assignment that requires I

read it or there is a quiz the next day every time you assign reading. Also,

don’t be one of those teachers that questions the students right after

the student answers the question, especially if we seem unsure about it!

Understand this one thing! Everything we learn in the reading you assign

or assignment you give is not facts, it’s only opinions and theories until

you confirm it in class the next day. So if I answer a question correctly

and you still say “Why?” I will instantly change my answer as if you said,

10

“That is completely wrong! Why would you even say that! Try again

now!!!!!” I will stammer uncontrollably, I will tremble, I will spew hundreds

of random words that sound correct to me hoping it’s the answer. So

please hold off on that.

Also stop answering our questions with another question! I ask

these questions because I don’t know the answer! Rephrasing the

question with an analogy will not help; it will only confuse me even more

than when you asked “why” after I answered a question correctly. Also,

occasionally I may answer a question somewhat unsure about something,

and after I do please, oh please, don’t fire back: “Some confidence

please!” Let me make you teachers aware of something that you may not

know, by the way this applies to all students: students are unsure about

everything in class. Every question/answer in class said by a student is in

reality, a guess. Let me give an example. If we go home and have to

review notes and reading for homework and we do it, hopefully we will

absorb 60% of the information and remember 40% of that 60% the next

day for class. In class if you ask a question about that 24% that we

memorized, we will say our answer eagerly and with confidence. But the

other 66% is another thing entirely. If we are asked a question directly

without us raising our hand, we will be caught off guard, startled as if we

just got flicked in the ear. We panic trying to access the deep recesses of

our mind to find the answer to the question we thought you might have

said. Time is running out, and we just blurt out an answer randomly, and

it’s met with a long stare that we then retort with our rapid question

answering as mentioned before.

11

The other situation is that we raise our hands to answer a question

we don’t know. We just have been sitting in the class for so long without

being called on, that when we raise our hand we just start raising it

automatically.

Well, thank you for reading; I hope this letter has given you some

insight into the mind of the student.

From, hopefully your favorite student because I constantly ask,

Jason K.

12

We Dream

By Matthew W.

We dream about everything We dream about nothing We dream about life We dream about our problems and desires We have dreams so we know where we want to be We can dream about adventures, We have dreams about where we want to adventure Or maybe about people we love, Or maybe we dream about long lost memories we want to find. Or maybe we dream about what we want to do, You can’t choose what you dream about, You can choose what your dreams are, You dream because without dreams there is no point to move on to.

13

Sally Hansen

By Olivia Lo

It’s an extra layer, Another color,

Another swipe of a shade. The streaks on nails.

An accident: The cool touch, On your skin.

14

Grandma’s House

By Emma W.

Driving towards it The trees drift From tall evergreen To shorter bush Pavement turns From rough frost heaves To the crinkle of sand Thrown in waves on the road The smell drifts From high notes to low notes The salt And the sea The car stops Bare feet break free From unwelcome air to new Landing on shell and grass I am waiting Always waiting For the sea For Grandma’s house

15

Dylan Peters

By Norm M.

Dylan was a boy He was 18 Car crash He was my friend He was my teammate He taught me everything I knew We will always remember you Goodbye Dylan the snowboarder