Just like every start of the year here in this class, we’d like to start by telling you a little bit about ourselves.

I’m Erin. And this is my blog.

I’m a grade eight student here in Manitoba, Canada. We like to write blog posts, collaborate with many students around the world, and save the environment. We write pretty much everything on the computers, thus saving thousands of sheets of paper every year. Hey, who doesn’t want to save the environment?

But, now back to me. What are my interests you may ask? I love to read and listen to music. I am currently learning to play the piano. I do not have favourite books, bands, or songs, because, well, I like too many. I would never be able to pick a favourite. Or even five. My taste in music is quite vast. I listen to pretty much anything. I do not like rap or pop music. But occasionally I do find a pop song I like. There’s a different story about rap. I just can not listen to it. I also do not like rhythm & blues or jazz music.

I’m not a big T.V. watcher, but I do like my Spongebob! I mean, who doesn’t like a sponge that fry’s patties and makes fire underwater?! I also like some weekly shows like Grey’s Anatomy and The Big Bang Theory. But I’d have to say I watch the news the most. I watch it at noon and at 6:00 every day. Well except for on the weekends. I’m not usually up at noon!

I have always wanted to visit New York. I don’t really have a reason why, as I don’t like the squished feeling of people all around me, but I want to go there. I love to shop so that may be why.

Also, I like syrup on my pancakes.

What are your interests? What is your favourite pancake topping? Is there a place you really want to go? I’d like to know!!

-~Erin

Laurie went to the Saturday football game hoping to tell her best friend, Amy, about what she had learned the night before. She was surprised to find that she was sitting with many other Wave members up high in the stands. Brad was standing guard and not letting any non-Wave members in. Also, if you wanted to go up, you had to salute and recite the motto’s. Laurie thought this was ridiculous and she wouldn’t do it, so she just left. She would just have to find Amy another time.

The next day some of the students of the staff of The Grapevine put together a special edition of the paper all about The Wave. This edition would reveal The Wave for what it really is. Before the paper came out Monday afternoon, Laurie had to talk to Amy. She was hoping that after Amy read the stories on The Wave, she would see what it really was and she would change her mind about it. But, Amy didn’t. She told Laurie that she couldn’t say these things about The Wave. Laurie did it anyway and published the paper.

David Collins couldn’t understand why everyone wouldn’t join The Wave. He and his friend Brian were talking about what Laurie had published. Brian asked David to talk to Laurie and get her to stop writing things about The Wave. He said that Laurie would listen to David. Well this didn’t turn out as planned but still went pretty well….

Laurie was late coming home after school because the Grapevine staff stayed late to celebrate their victory. She was walking by the tennis courts when David ran out to her. He tried to tell her to stop writing things about The Wave, but she said no. He grabbed her arms and then finally yelled at her and pushed her down. It was at that moment he realized The Wave was taking over. It was controlling people. The two decided to go to Mr. Ross’ house and explain to him that he had to stop The Wave. But, thankfully, he had already decided tomorrow would be the day that he ended this whole experiment.

The next day, Ben called all of The Wave members to the auditorium at 5:00. He was going to show them their leader. First Ben Ross showed the Wave members a blank screen. Someone shouted, “There is no leader, is there!” Mr. Ross responded with “Yes you have a leader!” The video the students watched that first day in history class came on with Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. He told the students that they would have made good Nazis because they traded their freedom for what they thought was equality. But it wasn’t– it was superiority over non-Wave members. He also stated that ‘if history repeats itself, you will all want to deny what happened to you in The Wave.’ He told all the Wave members that this was intended to be a lesson, not some power crazy group. But The Wave experiment was still a success because he taught the students a valuable lesson in life.

What an amazing book. I loved the story of it, even if it was poorly written. You could feel the power radiating off the group like heat waves in the desert on July 29. I wonder what it would have been like to be a student under the waves? I think it would definitely teach you a valuable lesson about life- Don’t let anyone else rule your life. What about if you were a person like Laurie and saw what The Wave really was from the beginning? Would you try and stop it like she did? Or would you act earlier? I think if I was in Laurie’s place, I would have went straight to Mr. Ross when I thought something was up. He might have realized it too if someone came and explained it to him. I hope this never happens again because kids got hurt for no reason.

I think one of my favourite parts of the book was when Alex Cooper said, “Give me liberty, or give me acne!” I thought this was kind of funny because he said ‘give me acne’ instead of something like ‘give me death’. He said that acne would be worse than death. I think I’d rather have acne than die.

When Mr. Ross was telling the Wave members about them being like the Nazis because they gave up their freedom for what they thought was equality, I thought what he said to them was very powerful. Those were some life changing words. (Page 134-135) I hope that the students listened to Mr. Ross and will end The Wave like he hopes. This will put an end to the beatings and the superiority also.

The book ended with Mr. Ross and Robert Billings having a little talk and then Ben Ross asking if he wanted to go out for a bite to eat. I think this book could have ended better and also included a piece on the true event. The ending could have been an epilogue on how the students reacted and what they did. Like if they actually listened to Mr. Ross and ended The Wave. I think the students did or else the book might have been longer. The ending of the book was alright but not the greatest.

If you ever get the chance to read this book or anything about The Third Wave, you should do it. It was an amazing and horrifying experience for the students involved in Ron Jones’ history class experiment. If you can get your hands on a copy of any of the movies about this event, you should watch them. You can literally feel the power of  The Third Wave. This event really makes you realize the power of groups and what can really happen if you let someone else make decisions for you and tell you what to do. It’s real. It’s life. And it’s scary.

Mr. Ross didn’t know what to think of  The Wave. It had started as a history class experiment to teach the students what it was like in Germany at the time of  World War II. But now… What was it? The Wave included students from lower years of high school, not just Ben Ross’ history class. It even included students from other  schools. Students would cut class just to go to the history class. So what has The Wave become? Wait, there’s more.

Laurie was in the publications office again. She was there with other students today. They were discussing stories for the schools paper, The Gordon Grapevine. One of the papers reporters, Carl, suggested writing about The Wave. Laurie, the editor in chief, said  yes, but to be careful. They would only tell that it exists, and with only a few details. Is that another clue that The Wave is something more?

Mr. Ross was drinking his usual coffee in the faculty room when someone told him Principal Owens would like to see him in his office. Principal Owens wanted to know what The Wave was. Mr. Ross explained to him what it was and that it was just an experiment. Principal Owens had his doubts– as any other teacher would, but those were cleared when Mr. Ross promised him that it was just an experiment and parents wouldn’t start marching into his office complaining that their children have been indoctrinated with something. Also, that he would keep his eyes and ears open. Principal doubts? Is there something wrong yet?

When Laurie went to the publications office the next day, she found a single white envelope on the floor. It was a story for the Grapevine from an anonymous person. It was about how this person was scared and confused. A senior talked to him and asked him if he had joined The Wave yet. This kid said not yet and the senior from Mr. Ross’ class said, “If you don’t join soon, it will be too late.” The student also said in his story “All I want to know is: Too late for what?” I also want to what he’ll be too late for… Is that another clue to The Wave being bad?

Did you know Mr. Ross had bodyguards? Yup that’s right. Mr. Ross had Robert Billings as his first bodyguard. Robert said that he needed to protect the leader. This made Ben Ross think. What was happening to The Wave?

Now in the Gordon High School, the pep rally was called a Wave rally. This one was to introduce the 200 new members and to get the students excited for the football game against Clarkston. While Laurie and David were heading to the rally there was a fight outside. A senior was trying to get another student to join The Wave. The student would not join. This led to Laurie and her boyfriend, David, to argue about The Wave . David broke up with Laurie. Laurie also did not go to the Wave rally.

She was sitting in her room at her desk when a knock came on the door. Laurie Saunders’ father entered her room and sat down. He told her that while he was on the golf course, he heard that a kid was beat up at school because of not joining The Wave. The boy was also Jewish. Mr. Saunders asked Laurie if that had anything to do with it. Laurie’s jaw dropped. Right then she decided that she needed to do something about The Wave.

So? What would you do to be an equal?

Wow. Those chapters were intense. I was blown away by how much power The Wave created. Ben Ross is definitely showing how power can create and run a group. Also, power can also change people. Like the way it changed David Collins. He changed in these chapters. I was not expecting that.

I’m glad that Laurie and a couple of other students see The Wave as what it really is. It is not good and becoming what the Nazi Party was. It is being changed by power. They are even beating up Jewish students. This really made me think about what can really happen when you let someone else rule your life and make your decisions for you. It can change a person for the good or bad. Sometimes that is great, but in this case it is bad. I think if I was Laurie I would definitely expose The Wave for what it really is.

I wish David wasn’t so serious about The Wave and saw what Laurie saw. I think it would have been good for Laurie if she had someone close to her and helping her battle The Wave. I think it is going to be hard for Laurie to expose The Wave for what it is, by herself. If I was her I would talk to my parents first, then go with them to Principal Owens. He already had his doubts about The Wave and now he has people saying that it is making a turn for the worst. I think he would understand. I think that when they talk to Mr. Ross, he will first deny it, then he will see what The Wave has become once they tell him about the beating of the Jewish kid and all of the fights.

Today I was looking up The Wave on the internet. I was looking for more information about what really happened and if they made a movie or documentary about the Wave incident. I found out that the original name for The Wave was The Third Wave, named after The Third Reich (Adolph Hitler). None of the students knew this at the time. Also, The Wave didn’t happen in 1969, it happened in 1967. The teacher of the history class in Paulo Alto, California, was named Ron Jones. In class, we listened to a radio broadcast about The Third Wave. The lady interviewed a couple of the students from Ron Jones’ history class. One of the former students said that The Third Wave changed her. She now knows that it is better to make your own decisions and not let someone else make them for you. She also said that it changed her for the rest of her life.

If you are also interested in learning about The Wave like I was, you can check out these links for video, articles and podcasts.

http://www.thewavehome.com/

http://www.lessonplanmovie.com/

http://www.thewave.tk/

http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2011/04/19/lesson-plan-the-story-of-the-third-wave/

I noticed that the students and Mr. Ross are getting caught up in The Wave because everyone takes it very seriously. Mr. Ross does not want to quit with the experiment. I don’t think the students want to stop The Wave anyway. I also think that it will be good for the Gordon High football team because then they will learn ‘Strength through Discipline, Strength through Community, Strength through Action’. This will teach them to work together and stay organized. They might win a game that way.

‘Community is the bond between people who work and struggle together for a common goal.’ I think that makes total sense and is also a good quote. It definitely describes The Wave because they are working together and showing the power of community in a group. I also liked what Mr. Ross said, “Ultimately, discipline and community are meaningless without action. Discipline gives you the right to action. A disciplined group with a goal can take action to achieve it. They must take action to achieve it. Never be afraid to act on what you believe. As The Wave you must act together like a well-oiled machine.  Through hard work and allegiance to each other, you will learn faster and accomplish more.”  I think what he said has lots of meaning. It definitely can get through to a person. It got through t0 the students because they were all standing beside their desks obeying Mr. Ross.

I think this book has a good story line, but the way it’s written isn’t as good. I like books with fast beginnings and less of a character description right at the start. I like it when the author keeps you guessing until later on in the book. The Wave has a very slow beginning and I didn’t really like that. This set of chapters was better than the first because it got into the story and didn’t just go on about the characters. I am liking the book a little more now.

Mr. Ross’ history class looked like any other history class until the students saw what was written on the blackboard: STRENGTH THROUGH DISCIPLINE. Mr. Ross explained what this had to do with his history lesson that day. He told his students that he was going to teach them about discipline. None of the students were very happy. But, they all obeyed their teacher.

Mr. Ross showed the students how they could create power through discipline. He had the students get up out of their desks, wander around the classroom, then sit down in their desks at any given time. He would time them to see how fast they could do it without bumping into other people.The class eventually found out a strategy for completing this task in the least amount of time. By the end the students could do this task in 16 seconds. Mr. Ross was impressed.

When the students quieted down, Mr. Ross told his class the new rules of his classroom: 1) Everybody must have pencils and paper for note-taking. 2) When asking or answering questions, students must stand by their seats. 3) The first words students say when answering or asking questions are ‘Mr. Ross’. The history students did good with the rules and didn’t complain about them either.

The next day, Ben Ross was surprised to see all of his students seated at their desks instead of wandering around chatting. He then went on with the previous days lesson instead of the Japanese campaign lesson he had planned on. Mr. Ross went on to write another word on the board beside discipline; COMMUNITY. He went on to tell them that these would be the groups mottos. Next came the the name. He told them they would be called The Wave and their salute would be cupping your right hand into a wave, then tapping it against your left shoulder and holding it upright.

Eric and David are in Mr. Ross’ history class and thought The Wave was pretty great. They decided that they should teach their football team about The Wave because they are disorganized and they do not work together very well. They haven’t won a game in a long time. Their coach also thought this was a good idea.

Mr. Ross next introduced the word ACTION. He added it to their motto too. The next thing Mr. Ross gave to the students were membership cards. Some were marked with red X’s indicating that they were to recruit new people and to make sure all members were obeying the rules. The students admitted that they felt like they were a part of something. Something great. They also said that it felt like being born again.

During the first four chapters we read this week, many things happened. The author introduced the characters and set up the novel. Laurie Saunders is a high school student enrolled in Gordon High School. She attends Ben Ross’ history class. She is also the editor-in-chief for the school newspaper, The Gordon Grapevine. She has short light brown hair and she almost always has a smile on her face. Another character in The Wave is Amy Smith; Laurie’s best friend. Both Laurie and Amy are both straight A students. Laurie’s boyfriend is also a character in the novel. His name is David Collins. David was a tall, good-looking boy who was a running back on the football team. And don’t forget about the main character; Ben Ross. He is the history teacher at Gordon High. He has been teaching there for two years now. Mr. Ross is a smart guy but he gets frustrated easily when it comes to technology. He was a go-to teacher; always wanting to show the students what they were learning.

During the history lesson Mr. Ross was teaching, he showed the students films and talked a little bit about the Nazis, the Jews, concentration camps, and Germany at the time of World War II. Some of the students reacted emotionally. That night, Ben sat at home wondering. He was wondering why he couldn’t answer the students questions about the why’s of the war. So he started to research. He read books until all hours of the night.

I liked how The Wave started. It set up the novel by introducing the characters one by one and then some description of them. I like it when authors set up novels like this. The action comes close to the middle. When I’m reading a series, I like it when the first book of the series sets it up by going into detail about the characters and the setting. But when it comes to the other books in the series I like it when it gets to the action right away. Instead of laying low for awhile.

I can relate to the history teacher Ben Ross because he likes to research things and he can get so into a book and its hard to even talk to him. That happens to me sometimes when I get a good book. Ben’s wife, Christy, had a hard time talking to him once she got home because he was so into the book he was reading. I can definitely relate to that.

Overall I really like the book. It starts good and I can relate to at least one character which is always good and can make the book more interesting for a reader. I can’t wait until they actually start the experiment and it gets really good.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell, a 69 year old U.S. man, is charged with 8 counts of murder after seven babies were born alive then killed with scissors.  A patient was also died from sepsis and a perforated uterus.  He gave abortions to minorities, immigrants and poor women in the Philadelphia ‘house of horrors’ clinic.

Dr. Gosnell made millions of dollars performing illegal late-term abortions.  According to District Attorney, Seth Williams Dr. Gosnell ‘induced labour and forced the live birth of babies in the sixth, seventh, and eighth month of pregnancy and then killed the babies by cutting into the back of their necks with scissors and severing their spinal cord.’

Bags and bottles holding aborted fetuses ‘were scattered throughout the building, there were jars, lining shelves, with severed feet that he kept for no medical purpose.’ Williams said.

Nine of Gosnell’s employees are also being charged.  None of them having any medical training, and one was even a high school student.

The world must know about this terrible event so we can prevent it.  We don’t want innocent babies being killed with scissors.  We need to prevent more incidents like this.  There are lots of people in this world who would love to adopt those innocent babies that cannot have children themselves.

Read this horrifying story here.

Liesel Memminger fights with many people.  These conflicts are mostly with Rosa Hubermann (foster mother) and are mostly physical.  When Liesel doesn’t  listen to Rosa she usually gets a beating.  She has had many beatings in her early life of living with the Hubermann’s.  She would get hit with a wooden spoon or Rosa’s hand or anything that was close by.  But now Rosa has changed since Max Vandenburg arrived.

Liesel also has conflict with herself.   One of the conflicts with herself is when she stole her first book.  She felt guilty but also very good about stealing her very first book.

Liesel and Rudy’s relationship is another conflict in The Book Thief.  They are best friends.  Rudy has always been there for Liesel.  They steal things together.  They stole the apples together.  They stole the food and the books together.  Rudy sticks up for Liesel and Liesel sticks up for Rudy.  Rudy really wants Liesel to kiss him but she won’t.

Many things go on in The Book Thief written by Markus Zusak.  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a powerful, full-of-action kind of book.

Well the mudslide in Brazil was deadly to over 380 people.  This deadly mudslide happened on January 12 at about 3 a.m. just north of Rio de Janeiro.  There was an amazing 26 centimetres of rain fall in less than 24 hours.  Thus causing all the mud to slide.  The power also went out causing people to not be able to contact their family and friends.
“We were like zombies, covered in mud, in the dark, digging and digging,”  Geisa Carvalho, age 19, told the reporters of CBC.

Such disasters hit Brazil annually in its rainy summer season.

Why is this important to the world?  I think this is important because people should know about these disasters around the world and try to prevent them.  Or at lest try to help.  We can do something about it.

What is causing these deadly disasters?  Is this another disaster caused by global warming?  Or is it just something from deep inside the earth?  What do you think?

Check out the CBC news story here.

Recently Australia is  covered in water.  This flooding started just before Christmas.  The highest level of water is 9 meters.  THe water has forced many people out of their homes.  Last year in Australia it was the largest drought, largest fires, and now look at it; it’s covered in water.  People aren’t tat as worried about the water as they are the snakes and alligators.  People are threatened by snakes and alligators in the main streets.  The snakes and gators are deadly to the citizens of Australia.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the price of rebuilding homes, businesses and infrastructure coupled with economic losses could be as high as $5 billion.  Mick Slater told reporters of CBC in the partially submerged city of Rockhampton, that ‘major roads, rail lines and bridges are all damaged, but we don’t know yet how much.’  This disaster clean up will take potentially years, Mick told CBC.  Hopefully people around the world will be able to pitch in and help.

Flooding:

Drought:

I think it is very important that people around the world know about this disaster because it may affect the world.  We also need to know because maybe we can help the Australians like we did for Haiti after the earth quake.  I wanted to let people know about this event because we can start looking after our environment better and keep the world from global warming.

What is going on with the world, volcanoes are erupting when they have been asleep for many years?  It has been predicted that this would happen with world polution.  Why didn’t people listen to the scientists?  Why didn’t the politicians listen to the scientists?

Check out the CBC story here.

This week I learned how to make Scuffles, Velveeta Fudge, and Cuban Lunches.  These things are all a part of our Christmas traditions.  I baked these things with my neighbor  Sarah.  She taught me how to make them.  Now that I know how to make them, I can bake them all the time and enjoy them more then once a year.

Here’s some history of baking.
Baking goes back a long way.  In ancient history, the first evidence of baking toke place when humans took wild grass grains, soaked them in water, and mixed everything together, mashing it into a kind paste. The paste was cooked by pouring it onto a flat, hot rock, resulting in a bread-like food. Later, this paste was roasted on hot embers, which made bread-making easier, as it could now be made anytime a fire was created.

Here are the recipes I used to make the new things this week:

Cuban Lunch

• 12 oz (1 bag) peanut butter Chipits
• 12 oz chocolate Chipits
• 12 oz butterscotch Chipits
• 1 large bag ripple chips crushed finely
• 1 cup chopped peanuts

Melt first 3 ingredients over low, low heat.  After they have melted, add chopped peanuts and crushed chips.  After all the ingredients are mixed, take a teaspoon or tablespoon (depending on the size of your paper cupcake cups) and place 1 scoop in each cup.

Velveeta Fudge

• 1 lb Velveeta cheese
• 1 lb margarine
• 1 cup cocoa
• 4 lbs icing sugar
• 1 Tbsp vanilla

Melt cheese and margarine in a saucepan.  SIFT in cocoa and icing sugar.  Add vanilla.  Spread evenly in a 9×13” pan.

Scuffles

• 5 cups of flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups (1 lb) margarine (butter)
• 1 cup of milk
• 2 eggs

• 2 cups white sugar
• 8 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients like pie crust (cut margarine into flour).  Make dough into a ball and put in fridge overnight.  Use sugar and cinnamon like flour and roll out dough.  Roll it into a circle.  Cut into 8-10 wedges.  Roll each wedge into a crescent.  Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 minutes.