EWC 4U1 Yallup

My favorite book is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I read this novel in Grade 6 as a read aloud. I enjoy reading books in small groups, as it gives you more of an insight of a book. I enjoyed the characters in the novel. I feel that the author describes them all very well. Katniss is the main character. She has long brown hair, she enjoys hunting and helping others. She is very close with her mom and sister Prim. The author splits the book into different districts, these are the settings. The author uses a lot of descriptive language to describe where the characters live. I feel that this book is a very good book for young adults. I would recommend this book to young adults who enjoy reading with a good use of descriptive language.

Censorship can be a touchy subject, especially when writing online or in classrooms. I believe that in a creative writing course, you should be able to freely speak your opinion. Often, when I write stories, I don't censor my work because I am afraid of what others will think. I write what I think it most formal for my stories, journal entries or any other writing piece. I believe that it is okay to write about things you feel passionate about and express your opinion. Everyone is entitled to have their own opinion and they shouldn't have to censor it. I feel that teachers now are trying to protect students from the real world. I think that we have the write to know what is happening in our world and express how we feel about it. If we don't express our opinions, then we won't be apart of the change that will make our world a better place to live in. Censorship should be allowed in classroom, but moderated to make sure others are not over stepping their creative bound...

When writing I do not believe in censorship unless it is used to intentionally harm a specific race, group or religion. I believe that in order for your writing to be effective, you have to be real. life isn't very pretty so you cant sugar coat everything. With creative writing, the writer should have complete freedom. I feel that only intentionally degrading. If a work is dangerous it could just be the writers choice of genre. When writing the only question a writer should have in mind is "what will my reader take away from this?", not 'who is this going to hurt?". Overall I don't believe in limitations.

    After reading all the articles on the subject of censorship in the classroom, my opinion on the topic is that a student should not be penalized simply for writing something that is considered "uncomfortable" or "intimidating" by school administrators or board members. If the writing does not contain any threats or actual harm to anyone reading it, it should not be considered a serious problem. If the student who wrote the piece does not act on what he/she wrote or do anything bad that coincides with the content of the written piece, it should not be considered a serious problem. However, if what the student has written is actually threatening, harmful, or extremely inappropriate, then some action should be taken, such as bringing that piece up to the principal/parent and talking with that student about what that piece could mean in terms of their mental health or personal issues. If necessary, some consequences should be applied towards the student, however I d...

The freedom of speech seems like a basic human right. Though, some areas of the world have took this right away from their people. Here in Canada, it is obvious we fully approve of the freedom of speech by this being one of our greatest qualities, and one many are attracted to. It is hard to think that even the most accepting country has it’s limits. There are many cases where students and even teachers have been punished for what they have said. In many of these cases, there are just unpopular opinions, not even presented in a hurtful manner. As a student and citizen of Canada, I do believe all should have the freedom to speak, even if that is on a controversial topic. In the case of Alex Stone and Brendan Jones, both were students who were punished for their chosen assignment topics. These assignments were open to any topic and so students were lead to believe they could write about anything. Alex Stone chose to write about himself murdering his neighbor’s pet dinosaur w...

  I believe censorship is important but I am kind of in between both sides of the argument. After reading these articles I think that some of the things said by students were taken out of context while other things written by students may have been a little bit more serious. I am all for students having a voice but I think there should be a bit of censorship since it is a school environment. I think these days people are afraid to express themselves because of how seriously certain topics are taken.  I know for myself I find it difficult to actually write what I want for school because of how the teacher may react to it. These students who took the chance and wrote about what they wanted got in trouble for it and honestly most of these pieces aren't even that bad, they are just taken out of context. The dinosaur story involving the gun was ridiculous. The student was at an age where they were more than able to understand what they were writing about, and so were the rest of t...

I believe that both sides of this argument have very valid points, and as it has been mentioned censorship is an extremely touchy subject. I believe this is mainly because it's seen as an omission of information. Whether it's for good or bad people take this as something being hidden from them or they get offended from the information received. This is where I'd have to take the side of there being too much censorship as I find we live in a bubble wrapped society, whatever happened to the saying, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." Firstly, the article about killing a dinosaur, although I can maybe understand where the weapon concern came from, I still found absolutely ridiculous, especially since 1. Dinosaurs don't even exist anymore (sorry if I offended anyone's stuffed dinosaur???) and 2. The punishments were still upheld even after he had been searched for weapons. And being completely honest, the attention this students writing has recei...

I really cannot say I agree with one side or another when it comes to what should, and shouldn't be deemed inappropriate in creative writing classes, especially in high school. It all depends. For example, that one student who wrote that status about killing a dinosaur with a gun was pretty ridiculous. Maybe if the student continuously wrote about guns and started being more extreme, then maybe the teacher should have started considering the complaint. It's common sense really, and unfortunately a lot of people do not have that. There's always going to be that one teacher who does it out of fear, that one ignorant teacher who likes to ruin a student's reputation, and that one teacher who is bored out of his/her mind and decides to roll the dice for some fun.  At the same time in today's day and age, a teacher is under so much pressure. One little comment or assignment taken the wrong way by the student -and their usually obnoxious parents- can end their ...

Censorship is a very controversial topic. It's a tough decision for positions of authority to judge how far is too far in their opinion, even with guidelines. In many of the articles students were disciplined out of good intentions, although their situations were misunderstood. I believe in the freedom of speech and creating a safe environment in schools so students can grow and experiment without fear of expression. In some of the earlier articles, the subject matter that was labeled as inappropriate was misinterpreted very harshly. Students should not have to suffer consequences because of the use of 'key words' the school labels as dangerous, ingraining paranoia and stigmas--restrictions of vocabulary. Context should matter, along with the student's track record if authoritative figures are truly concerned, and over dramatic consequences should not be enforced out of precautions. I don't think censorship is a necessary tool. Yes, there need to be rules tha...

I feel like we live in a "baby-safe" world. Everyone gets so worried about every little things. Playgrounds are deemed "dangerous", kids have more restrictions on them than their parents did despite safety technology, and now students are having their rights impeached upon. Each of these articles was just...so dumb. A kid wrote about killing his neighbour's pet dinosaur with a gun and because he mentioned "gun" he got suspended. Dude. Really? And then the girl who wrote a poem about Sandy Hook? Well obviously she doesn't think that it should be condoned, she merely said she understood why the killer did it. It's like the difference between being interested in serial killers (their motives, mental disorders, history, etc etc) and liking serial killers (pretending as if they are just celebrities, excusing them, "shipping" them, etc etc). The girl did not agree with Sandy Hook, she merely understood it. I feel like there is too muc...

In grade 11, I had come across a book by the name of Lolita. What drew me in was the very risky topic the book was based on; pedophilia. The book is about an older man by the name of Humbert Humbert who has an obsession for younger girl (nymphets). In the story, Humbert meets this woman named Catherine when he first comes to America. He quickly falls in “love” with her young daughter Dolores, who he later nicknames Lolita. Nabokov’s book somehow makes the reader feel empathetic towards Humbert although his actions are disgusting. The book is written from his perspective which, in a way, puts the ready inside the mind of a pedophile. All this had intrigued me to read the book for my independent study book, since then I would recommend the book to anyone that has an open-mind. At first the book is a little hard to understand, so it took me some time to finally get the hang of it. This book is a one of a kind in my honest opinion. Vladimir Nabokov really tackled a topic no one would in t...