Please respond to each of the questions below. Responses should be at least one paragraph.
Number your responses so that it is clear which question you are
answering. Please post your responses by Monday, December 2nd @8:00p.m.
1. Outside of his family, who warned author Wes Moore about the bad path he was on? (police officer after he got caught tagging) Did Moore heed this warning? For how long? Why didn’t the change stick?
1. Outside of his family, who warned author Wes Moore about the bad path he was on? (police officer after he got caught tagging) Did Moore heed this warning? For how long? Why didn’t the change stick?
2.
Author Wes Moore states, “Later in life I learned that the way many
governors projected the numbers of beds they’d need for prison
facilities was by examining the reading scores of third graders.” (p.
54) How did reading this make you feel? Why?
3.
What allowed author Wes Moore to go to better schools than prisoner Wes
Moore? (What kinds of sacrifices did his family make?)
4. How did Tony try to dissuade prisoner Wes Moore from following his illegal path? Why did it work or not work?
5. At the end of this part of the reading, Sargeant
Austin gives author Wes Moore a map. Explain what the map is about,
and how following the map turns out for the author. Finally, why do you
think Sergeant Austin did what he did?
1 -- Wes Moore received a warning from the police officer. He was out on the streets tagging with a friend, marking up the walls with spray paint. He was let off with a warning after being cuffed and searched. This warning was about that he should learn and progress rather than being out on the streets, next time would be different. This warning stuck for about a week before he was out tagging again, marking the walls with his logo. This part was vague, someone else could have been painting his tag, but it seemed he was referring to himself. The reason for this seemed to be a rough childhood, tagging as a mark by him, not controlled by others. It was a desperate cry for help that no one heard.
ReplyDelete2 -- This line was just absurd. In third grade people's lives were already starting to shift, even though some will improve, the amount of kids who would struggle is insane. The amount of children sent away shows how maybe it was not the kids after all, it was the community, the parents, the streets, the life they lived. This really hit me hard, seeing how kids were thought to be sent away for bad grades, even as early as 3rd grade.
3 -- Sacrifices is an insane thing. The author's family made sacrifices for money, yet both almost seemed to lose out in the end. To be completely honest, I am still very unsure of who is who in this book as much as I try. There is a distinction between them sometimes, yet other times it all blends together. For one family, that I think this question is discussing, the grandparents and parents sacrificed their money, all of what they had to send him to a better school, a military school yes, but somewhere he could maybe start to learn and progress. The sacrifice from his family allowed him to go farther in life, not to end up solely on the streets.
4 -- Tony tried several times, trying to show him his path was one he should not follow. The ways he acted and the things he did made him less of a person, trying to stop Wes from the same fate. It did not work, money became more of a priority. Drugs became the game for both of them, both at lost and now at each other's throats. What was once there is now lost, the horse was led to the water, but instead of not being able to make the horse drink as Tony says in the book, he never taught him why he should drink.
5 -- A map to the nearest train station from the military school was given to Wes, he follows it of course and finds it was a ploy. This map became a perfect excuse for him to be taken to talk with his mother, realize the world around him. Serg. Austin did this for a few reasons: a reason to take Wes in to the higher authorities, a reason to allow Wes to talk with his mother, and finally, a reason for Wes to be convinced of why he was here, not to be taken from something, but to gain so much more than from where he was. Wes needed a new path, and this seemed like the right one.
I like what you wrote about Tony trying to lead him to the water but not teaching him why he should drink. For question #5, though, you wrote, "...realize the world around him. Serg. Austin..." I'm not clear what you meant exactly by that.
Delete1: The police gave him a warning and said, "I hope you really listened to what I told you."(Moore, 84) When Wes Moore gave his reply of, "Yeah, thank you,"(Moore, 84) it convinced me that this incident would be the last one. However, a week later, he began tagging more places to let people know Kid Kupid was there. I think the change didn't stick because he only got a warning the first time, and now he may think he can get away with things if he is more careful. Wes Moore said, "The cops gave us a gift that day, and I swore I would never get caught in a situation like that again." (Moore, 84) He said he would never get caught, not that he wouldn't do it. I think Wes Moore took some of the warning, but not the part that the officer wanted him to hear.
ReplyDelete2: To me, I thought that fact was odd because people change. Even if someone's reading level is below average in third grade, it can change easily, because 9 is a young age. While reading scores do give an estimate of effort put into school, or the amount of home support a student has, it doesn't seem accurate to examine the results of third graders. When I read this, I was shocked, but when I thought about it, some of it made sense. While I think examining the results of kids in third grade is too early, something has to be done to get an estimate for prison beds.
3: Author Wes Moore went to better schools because his family made sacrifices. His mother worked very long hours, and his grandparents put money and time into his life. His grandparents would be home when his mother was working to cook dinner and watch after Wes. When Wes's mother wanted him to go to the military school, she asked her family and friends for money to help him go. His grandparents gave decades worth of savings to Wes's mother so that maybe he would have a better life.
4: Tony always told Wes to not sell drugs because it was a dangerous game. Wes knew it was bad to get into it, but the person warning him was a drug dealer. Tony is Wes's older brother, so Wes looks up to him as a role model. Author Wes Moore mentions that all Wes wants to do is to be like Tony, but Tony wants Wes to be nothing like him. Tony's warnings did not work on Wes, because Wes wanted money, and he wanted to be like his brother. " (Moore, 84)
5: Seargent Austin gives author Wes Moore a map of the woods. However, the map isn’t correct, and it leads Wes Moore deep into a place that he is not familiar with. When Wes Moore is about ready to give up, he hears something in the bushes and then sees Seargent Austin come out. I think he gave him the map for a test, to see if he was determined to do something or not. He may have also done it as a test of whether or not Wes Moore could follow directions.
Good responses, Katelyn. I wonder if Sargent Austin gave him the bogus map so that Moore wouldn't actually leave--to teach him a lesson.
Delete1. Author Wes Moore was caught with a friend tagging by a police officer. The police officer told him that if he didn’t straighten out he would end up in the back of another police car. Wes listened to the officer for a week. I think he really wanted to get his life in order, but sometimes it’s harder to change then we think. It’s like trying to break an old habit, that’s why Wes went back to making trouble. I think he also didn’t want to believe that what he was doing was wrong, on some level he probably didn’t really want to change.
ReplyDelete2. It made me confused, and a little upset. The reading level of a third grader seems so irrelevant. In third grade we still have a lot of growing up to do. We are also taught that when we start doing bad things we get a chance to change. If we are determining how many beds a prison need by third grade we aren’t giving anyone a second chance. How can we judge someone for not being able to read well in third grade? That's like deciding kindergarteners who can build block houses are going to be rich. It just doesn’t make any sense.
3. Author Wes’ family made huge sacrifices to send him to better schools. His mother had to work multiple jobs to send him to Riverdale. When his mother found out that he wasn’t doing well his grandparents gave up the money they were saving to go to Jamaica to pay for his first year of military school. While author Wes Moore’s entire family sacrificed to send him to school prison Wes Moore’s family didn’t help him as much. His mother also didn’t intervene when prison Wes started getting into trouble at school.
4. Tony tried to tell prison Wes Moore that getting into drug dealing is for life. He tried to show Wes that it was too late for him, but Wes could get out before it was too late for him. It didn’t work because Wes looks up to Tony. He just saw the money and respect Tony gained by being in the drug dealing business. Wes wanted to be just like his older brother. Wes was also largely tempted by the money, everybody wants to have more money.
5. Sargent Austin gives author Wes a map that he claims will help him escape military school. The map really leads Wes out into the woods were his officers where waiting for him. I think Sargent Austin wanted to see how serious wes was about getting out, or if he could really go through with it. However, I also think he wanted to have a little fun. He probably through it was really funny to have a new cadet wandering around following a fake map.
Madelyn,
DeleteI think you are onto something when you notice that author Wes Moore's mother took more of an active interest when Wes started to get into trouble at school. For me, she's the one who made the difference.
1. Prisoner Wes Moore got warned by a police officer after he and his friend were spray painting the walls on the streets. Even though Prisoner Wes Moore said he wouldn't get caught, he didn't exactly say he would never do it again. "I hope you really listened to what I told you." the police officer whispered into his ear as he took the cuffs off of Wes's wrists. So I think that it didn't really stick with Wes due to him thinking he can get away with it if he were more careful. After the warning he continued tagging the following week, and he believed that there wouldn't be any major consequences if he got caught once again.
ReplyDelete2. As I read this, I had a mix of emotions. I was shocked, offended, and deeply concerned. If this had ever happened to me I know for a fact I would be a totally different person. When you are in the third grade, your whole life is basically shifting. Some kids are already hitting puberty, people start thinking about more mature things, hormones start acting up, and so on. For a kid to get sent away for bad grades is just absurd (like Porter said) and very unnecessary. A kid that young would have their mental health fall apart, and may trigger a mental illness. I was very afraid for the children and the things they had to live through.
3. In order for Wes Moore to go to a better school, and get a good education; his family made very big sacrifices. His mother worked for very long periods of time, and way more hours a week she would probably be able to handle. In order to send Wes to Rivendale his mother worked even harder. When his grades were showing his unsuccessful way of learning and that he wasn't doing well in school, his mother asked for help from his grandparents. They gave up their money they were supposed to use to go to Jamaica on his first year of military school, and let him become successful and educated to his fullest. Aside from him Prisoner Wes Moore lived with his mother who didn't bother to check his marks, or even care enough to ask about school. He didn't get enough support from his mother, and didn't have a mentor to help him out.
4. The whole situation is very sad. As prisoner Wes Moore's older brother, Tony is his role model. Wes knows what he's doing is wrong, but even though Tony warns him, and tells him the story of the horse drinking water, he never ended up telling him the reason the horse drank the water itself. Wes Moore cannot just stop selling and using drugs, especially after a drug dealer tells him not to. Even though Tony tries to help, he's influencing Wes to do it, and his younger brother ends up in jail because of him.\
5. As Sergeant Austin gives author Wes Moore the map, Wes thinks it's a map of an escape out of military school. As he sets out on his journey he soon realizes that the map leads him into the woods. He wasn't familiar with the area, and ended up getting lost. Then as he hears the bushes rustle he sees Sergeant Austin come out. I think Sergeant Austin did this do test Wes Moore if he would soon enough realize that it's a fake map, to see how determined or focused on this task he would be, and if he would actually be able to get through the woods and escape.
I like your observations about author Wes Moore's mother and grandparents and all of the sacrifices she made. The grandparents really did a lot for their grandson, at a time when they should have been able to enjoy retirement.
Delete1. Author Wes Moore was caught by a police officer when he was out with his friend graffiting walls. The police officer luckily let author Wes Moore off with a warning. However, author Wes Moore only went for about a week before he was tagging again. I think that the change didn't stick because it is hard for a person to change. It takes time for someone to reform. In this case I think that if author Wes Moore had decided to distance himself from Shani and his other friends who were not the best role models, even if just for a month or two, he would have been able to get over his bad habit.
ReplyDelete2. This made me feel sad, and also offended. In the book it says, “A strong percentage of kids reading below their grade level by third grade would be needing a secure place to stay when they got older.”(54). In third grade, I was in the reading level that was below average, I am a slow reader and am not that good at reading out loud. Back in third grade, I also had a speech impediment which made it hard for me to pronounce my “R’s.” just because I was in a lower reading level, doesn't mean that I was going to grow up to be a criminal. I don't think that it is fair to judge how many beds you will need for inmates by how good a third grader is at reading.
3. After all of the trouble that author Wes Moore caused, tagging, skipping school, failing classes, and hitting his sister, his mother decided that it was best for him to go to a military school. On one hand, author Wes Moore’s grand parents give up their savings for author Wes Moore too go to military school. But also his mother I think sacrificed a lot to. She had to send her son away to a place where she couldn't see him every day after school, but she knew that it would be safer for him to be there instead of at home. His mother had finally admitted to herself that she couldn't keep her own son safe and give him a promised future.
4. Tony tried to keep prisoner Wes Moore from getting into drugs many times. After he did however, Tony still tried to keep him safe. He tried to persuade him to get out of drugs and to stop before it was too late. The problem with this was that Tony also sold drugs and he made a lot of money off of his business. This made prisoner Wes Moore look up to Tony instead of heath his warning about staying out of trouble
5. The map is too “help” author Wes Moore escape and make his way to the train station and be able to see his friends and family again. However, when author Wes Moore follows the map that he was given, he finds himself lost in the woods instead of at the train station like the map said it would lead to. Author Wes Moore starts to hallucinate sounds of snakes and bears. When Sergeant Austin comes to retrieve him in the woods, he doesn't put up a fight. I think that Sergeant Austin did this so that he could either look like a good Sergeant and maybe be more respected by people who were higher than him, like Colonel Batt. My other thought is that he wanted to see how far author Wes Moore would go to try and sneak out of the school.
Ada, thanks for sharing what you shared in #2. That's the thing about studies like this; they don't allow for the fact that kids change dramatically at this age and you can't predict future success.
Delete1. A police officer caught Wes and a friend out tagging, and arrested them both. He had promised the officer that that was the last time; that he wouldn’t do it again. That was a lie, as he was out a week later continuing his old habits. I think that the change didn’t stick because he was let off with a warning the first time, nothing bad really happened. He also said that he would never get caught in a situation like that again, not that he wouldn’t ever do it again.
ReplyDelete2. Personally, I’ve never had any trouble with reading, but even so, this scared me a bit. It also surprised me because third graders are usually eight or nine, and that seems like a very young age to be basing the number of prison beds a prison will need off of. People change a lot in elementary school, and a person’s reading level is no different. Even if you’re reading below standard at that age, you could change that quickly with a little bit more time and help in that subject.
3. Author Wes Moore was able to go to better schools because his family sacrificed a lot for his education. His mother worked long hours at multiple jobs to send him and his sisters to Riverdale. Then, when his mother learned that he was doing poorly at school, and she sent him to military school, other members of his family had to start making sacrifices as well. His grandparents gave up the money they were saving to go to Jamaica and other relatives chipped in after his mother wrote to them and all but begged them to send money.
4. Tony didn’t want his brother to live the same life as he did. When Tony and Wes got into a fight, he looked back and said all he could see was his younger self. He knew it was a dangerous game, as he had been shot three times because of drug deals gone wrong. Tony knew that if Wes continued to go to school, he would have a much better chance at a future life then if he got involved with drugs. This obviously didn’t resonate with Wes, as he got involved in the trade anyways. Even after his mom found the drugs, he went back so that he could then repay the dealers.
5. Sergeant Austin tells Wes that he knows he doesn’t want to be there and that they don’t want him there either. He then procedes to give Wes a map with directions that will get him to the train station so that he can go home. When Wes sneaks out that night, he follows the directions, but feels as though he’s lost. When he sits down, Sergeant Austin and his friends emerge from the woods and bring Wes back to the military school. I think that the sergeant did this to see if WEs would really try and escape and thing that he was helping him.
Your response to #4 is interesting to me, especially this part: "Even after his mom found the drugs, he went back so that he could then repay the dealers." As you point out, he was already in kind of deep because he had to repay some folks---so it doesn't really matter that his mom caught him.
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