Should We Spare the Rod?

It's an ethical dilemma.  Ethics is branch of philosophy that discusses concepts such as good and bad, right and wrong, justice, and virtue.  A dilemma is a situation with two or more possible outcomes, none of which is necessarily 100% good.  The phrase "between a rock and a hard place" describes a dilemma.  Some common topics of ethical dilemmas in the US today are abortion, drug legalization (specifically marijuana), and immigration.  Another one is whether or not parents (and other guardians) should use physical force in raising children.  Many agree that too much force is wrong and call it abuse, but where should the line be drawn? Opponents say spanking instills fear, not understanding, and sets up a loop of abuse.  Proponents say "Spare the rod, spoil the child," meaning that if a child isn't spanked, he won't mind, and will become spoiled. What do you think?

INSTRUCTIONS: Tell whether or not you think parents should whip their children as a means of discipline.   Write at least 3 sentences, and use at least one TAKS Word of the Day, and underline it.  Then click Publish Post, and you're done.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

I do not think children should be disciplined using force.  I think hitting a child is the easiest way for parents to eliminate the immediate problem, but it's not the most effective way.  Taking the time to set a precedent and enforcing rules and expectations consistently teaches the child what to do and what not to do, while beating only teaches the child to fear the parent. 

Would You Rather

Would you rather have a beautiful house and ugly car or an ugly house and beautiful car?

Would you rather have a husband or wife who is really attractive but dumb as rocks, or someone who is really smart, but not cute at all?

Would you rather be invisible or be able to read minds?

INSTRUCTIONS: Answer the questions above, and tell why you would choose each one.  Please include at least 1 TAKS Word of the Day in your answer, and use complete sentences.  Then make up a "Would You Rather" question of your own.  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

• I would rather have a beautiful house, but it's a really close call.  Not everybody sees your home, but plenty of people see your car.  Maybe if I had an ugly car I would stay home more.
• I would rather have someone intelligent, no doubt.  If I didn't have to marry them though...
• I would rather be invisible.  I don't think I want to know what people are thinking.

My Question:  Would you rather have the longest fingernails in the world, or the longest neck in the world?

Birthdays

Monday's child is fair of face,

Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,

Thursday's child has far to go.

Friday's child is loving and giving,

Saturday's child works hard for a living,

But the child born on the Sabbath Day,

Is fair and wise and good and gay.

~ Mother Goose nursery rhyme

What does your birthday say about you?

INSTRUCTIONS:  Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post.  Go to Paul Sadowski's Birthday Calculator and look up your birthday.  What day of the week were you born?  What is your Life Path number, and how do they come up with the Life Path number?  What Chinese year are you?  What is that supposed to mean?  How many days old are you?  Who is a celebrity that is born on your birthday?  How many days until your next birthday?  Answer these questions and click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

I was born on a Friday.  My Life Path number is 4, The Life Path 4 suggests that I entered this plane with a natural genius for planning, fixing, building, and somehow, with practical application and cerebral excellence, making things work. Supposedly I am one of the most trustworthy, practical, and down-to-earth of individuals; the cornerstone members of society. Indeed, as a Life Path 4, I am a builder of society. I was born in the year of the Dog.   I'm 10, 512 days old.  Wow.  The Pope was born on the same day as me.  There are 80 days until my next birthday.  The song Eye of the Tiger was a top song when I was born. 

Survivor - Eye of the Tiger

Eliminate

To get rid of

Sunday the Packers eliminated the Bears in the NFC Championship in order to move on to the Super Bowl against Pittsburgh.

Elevate

To lift up

When you hurt your ankle, doctors recommend that you elevate the foot to relieve swelling, so prop it up on a pillow while you sit there.

Effective

Produces the desired result

Luckily, the first antibiotic was effective at fighting his illness.

Effect

Something that is produced by a cause; a result; a consequence

Global warming is one of the long-term effects of pollution.

Editorial

An article in a newspaper presenting the opinion of the publisher, editors, or editors

I look forward to Steve Blow’s editorial column every week in the Dallas Morning News.

What's in a Name?

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - Juliet, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, log in to Blogger, and click New Post.  Do you know the meaning of your name?  Use BehindtheName.com to search for your name and find out its origin and use MeaningofNames.com to find the meaning of it.  Do you like your name?  If you could change your name tomorrow, would you?  What would you change it to?  When you are finished, click New Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

My name, Jennifer, is from the Welsh name Guinevere.  It means white wave.  I do like my name now, although I wish it weren't so common.  If I could change my name tomorrow, I wouldn't do it.  Maybe if I could go back and start with a different name I would, but I wouldn't want to switch now.

Get a Free Day!!!

The WMHS Theatre Troupe is putting on The Man of La Mancha for the annual musical this year.  If you attend one showing and bring me a playbill and ticket from the show, you will receive ONE FREE DAY later in the 6-weeks, on a day when the other students are working.  Totally AWESOME, right?

The Man of La Mancha
in the WMHS Auditorium

Friday, January 21, at 7:00pm
Saturday, January 22, at 7:00pm
Sunday, January 23, at 2:00pm

Students - $5
Adults - $8

Zodiac Sign

What is your zodiac sign?  What are the traits associated with that sign?  Do you possess those traits?  Do you believe in astrology?  Did your sign change when the astrological charts were realigned recently?  What do you think about that?

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post.  Answer the questions above.  Tell why you do or do not believe in astrology.  Write at least 5 sentences, and include at least one TAKS WOD.  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

My zodiac sign is Aries, the sign of the Ram.  Aries are said to be  "masculine" (I hope not), neurotic/task-oriented (definitely me), positive/extrovert (this describes me as well) sign. And they say Aries like to be first since it is the first sign of the zodiac. True story.  I do believe that astrology probably has a little truth to it, because it is derived from real star charts, but I don't live and die by it.  My sign did change to Pisces, but people are saying that you don't have to change your sign unless you were born after 2009.  I'm glad because even though I'm not that into it, I feel attached to the Ram.

Story Time, The Conclusion

Write a third and final part to your story from the last two blog posts, using 3 more TAKS Words of the Day.

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post (or if your blog is in Microsoft Word, open a new document).  Conclude the story you began in the last two blogs.  Go for it.  Use your brain creatively.  This time, your story must be at least 7 sentences long.  Use 3 different TAKS WODs than you used in the first two stories.  Underline them.  You may change the title of the post to fit your story if you want.  Then add at least one picture to illustrate it.  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:


Susie froze.  Had Jack heard the sound?  How could he not have heard?   She looked at the back of the dress.  Maybe you couldn't differentiate between the fabric of the dress and the fabric of the slip she wore beneath it.  But you most certainly could.


Susie felt like she was a character in one of those stories of mortification from a teenage magazine circa 1994.  She attributed this horror to her inability to do anything remotely feminine.   "I have learned my lesson this time," she thought.

Story Time, The Sequel

On your last blog, you wrote a short story using TAKS Words of the Day.  Now write a sequel, a Part 2 to your earlier story, using 3 more TAKS Words of the Day.

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post (or if your blog is in Microsoft Word, open a new document).  Continue the story you began in the last blog in some way.  Did your previous story lack a conclusion?  Use this as a chance to wrap it up.  Would you like to add some details before what happened in the first part of the story?  Write a pre-quel (a sequel that comes before the original chronologically).  Or perhaps your first story would be easy to continue indefinitely.  Go for it.  Use your brain creatively.  This time, your story must be at least 7 sentences long.  Use 3 different TAKS WODs than you used in the first story.  Underline them.  You may change the title of the post to fit your story if you want.  Then add at least one picture to illustrate it.  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

The night of the party was finally here.  Susie had worked continuously on the dress for weeks, meticulously measuring the dimensions of each piece of fabric and sewing them together very carefully.  "It's no Prada gown," she thought, "but at least I can say I made it myself.  At least I completed something, terrible as it may be." 

She stepped slowly down each step of the winding staircase to finally show Jack her finished product.  As she inched down the 5th stair, she heard the most terrifying sound she could imagine - the sound of fabric ripping!

Story Time

Tell a story using TAKS Words of the Day.

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post.  Write a short story, 5 - 10 sentences, and include at least 3 TAKS WODs.  The TAKS WODs can be found by clicking on the link on the right side of this page.  Underline each TAKS WOD when you use it.  Insert pictures to illustrate your story.  You may change the title of the post to a creative title that represents your story if you would like.  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

Susie wished she was more domestic, like her mother was.  Her mother was very good at making a home, but it did not come naturally to Susie.  She was actually adept at a diverse range of things (horseback riding, snowboarding, math), but none of those things in the home.  Today she wanted to duplicate a dress she had seen over the weekend.  If I can board down that double black diamond at the age of 27, I can make a silly dress, she thought.

New Years Eve

New Years Eve (NYE) is anticipated by many as the biggest party of the year each year.  What is your favorite NYE memory?

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, log in to Blogger, and click New Post.  Describe the best NYE you ever had.  Where were you?  Who was there?  What made it so memorable?  Did you get a kiss at midnight?  Now describe your worst NYE.  What happened?  Where were you?  Who was there?  What made it so horrible?  When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis's Answer:

My best NYE was in Thailand in 2009.  I was on vacation with my friends, we were on the beach, and it was warm and beautiful.  I was surrounded by other travelers and two of my favorite friends under a blanket of stars.  I will never forget it.

My worst NYE was in 2006.  I had gone to visit my best friend in Chicago, and I got tonsilitis.  I had to spend the night alone in a hotel watching reruns of Entourage.  And I couldn't go to the doctor the next day because most weren't open on New Years Day.  I will also never forget that.  Yuck.

Silver and Gold

Each new year is seen as a chance to assess our lives and reflect on what we have experienced.  It can also be an opportunity to then think about and make plans for the year to come.  This month our blogs will be setting the stage for the year 2011.

Make new friends

And keep the old.

One is silver,

And the other, gold.

-Girl Scout song

INSTRUCTIONS: Open a new tab, login to Blogger, and click New Post.  Think about the year 2010.  Who were your best friends last January, or who did you spend a lot of time with last summer?  What about now, are you still as good of friends with these people as you were back then?  Why or why not?  Now think about one friend you have now that you became friends with just last year.  One year ago you did not know them.  What caused you to become friends?  What is your favorite thing about this person?  Describe your old and your new friends, and think about those friendships and the changes they have undergone.  Are you happy with the way these friendships have developed?  What can you do to cultivate them? When you are finished, click Publish Post.

Ms. Davis’s Answer:

A year ago I was living in Korea, and my best friends were Marcus and Sarah.  After I moved back home in June, I spent most of my time with Angela and Chris.  Now I do not get to see my friends from Korea any more, and that is really sad, but I still spend a good amount of time with my best friend Angela.  We have been friends since middle school.  Someone I am friends with now that I did not know before last year is my friend Jake.  He is really intelligent and extremely generous.  I am grateful to know all of these people, and I know that we will always remain friends.   I will not let too much time pass in between making contact.   

Duplicate

To copy

If you want to use the same shape over and over again, you can highlight the shape and click Ctrl+D to duplicate it.

Drastic

Extremely severe or extensive

I would not normally have reacted so strongly, but this called for drastic measures.

Domestic

Of or pertaining to home, the household, household affairs, or the family

Instead of calling herself a stay-at-home mom, Marie claims to be a domestic goddess.

Diversity

The state of being diverse; difference; unlikeness

As a cultural melting pot, America is known for its diversity.

Diverse

Of a different kind, form, character, etc.; unlike

The wildflowers along the highways in Texas are diverse in color, size, and shape.