REHUGO+1

Robbins, Alexandra. __The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids__ I agree with the author that many students are being pushed too hard to excel. However, I do not think that society is going to change. I know that I personally have a busy life, and could easily fall into the overachiever category. However, I'd rather deal with the stress in my life than give up the activities I am involved in. I like to be busy.
 * The Overachievers Precis**
 * CITATION**:
 * CATEGORY**: Non-fiction
 * PRECIS**: Alexandra Robbins, New York Times bestselling author, published "The Overachievers" which suggests that too much is expected of each new generation of students in today's spreading culture of overachievers. In her book, Robbins gives detailed accounts of the interview process just to get accepted into some kindergartens, she also presents interviews of high school students that show medical, emotional, and social problems caused by excessive amounts of schoolwork and extracurricular activities, and she even provides statistics indicating suicides of young children due to stress and disappointment of failure. Her purpose is to show that other than leading to high testing scores and greater possibilities of attending an elite college, overachieving can also have negative consequences; Robbins illustrates this idea in order to demonstrate that an overachieving culture leads to stressed out, over worked students. Robbins challenges the reader to question society, and consider if the overachiever culture children are being brought up in is actually beneficial for their learning, development, and growth.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Skloot, Rebecca. __The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks__ I thought the author did a great job presenting the information, and she persuaded me of the injustice done to the Lack’s family. It is very unfortunate that the Lack’s family was unaware of the Hela cell and it’s contribution to science for so long. I agree with the author that more needs to be done so other families are not treated the same way the Lack’s family was. I think it is important for people to know if they or their immediate family are being used for research.
 * Summer Reading Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-fiction
 * PRECIS:** Rebecca Skloot, award-winning science writer, spent years researching information for her book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" which implies that researches studying human organisms are not involving the patients and their families in how the patients organisms are being used and not giving them any of the profits from the research even though the materials came from the patients body. Skloot interviews the Lack’s family to find that they did not know that Henrietta’s cells were still alive and being researched for over twenty years; the Hela cells from Henrietta’s body were making millions of dollars, yet the Lacks family was poor and had received nothing. The author’s purpose is to make people of aware of the Henrietta Lacks story and use it as an example of the faults in the medical research system in order to change the medical research system to allow the patients and their families to be more involved with what happens with their cells and body parts when they go to the doctor. Skloot gives the reader better insight as to what actually happens with your cells once they are removed from your body and emphasizes the importance of communicating with the doctor to be aware of what is going on with those cells so that if they can help society or make a profit you are alert to the situation.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Golding, William. __Thinking as a Hobby__ The article was frustrating for me to read because I tend to be a level three thinker. I felt that Golding's words did not have a purpose for the reader, they were simply for Golding to boast about himself. I don't see the point of only three categories of thought. There are millions of people in this world, and I don't think that everyone can fit into just three categories.
 * Thinking as a Hobby Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-fiction
 * PRECIS:** William Golding, a great thinker, produced the article "Thining as a Hobby" which states that there are three levels of thinking, but very few people achieve the highest level of thinking. Golding uses experiences from his own life to show how a person's level of thought can increase, most people are like a child, they rely on others and assume that what they are told is true, as Golding did, however when a person starts to question the world around them they move into the next level of thought, when a person acts on these questions they have entered into level one thought which is the highest level. Golding's main purpose is to show how many low level thinkers there are in society in order to make the few high level thinkers, like himself, to stand out amoung the sea of low ranked thinkers. Goldings main audience is the level one and two thinkers, a level three thinker would not be able to understand the brilliance of his words, Golding writes with an arrogant tone that alters the readers perception of their own thought and makes them feel insecure.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Wheatley, Phillis. __To His Excellency, General Washington__ Washington, George. __Miss Phillis__ I believe the authors were both sincere and wrote what they meant. I think Wheatley truly did have respect for Washington. I also believe that General Washington did not publish the poem because he didn't want to seem vain. History shows that that was his character. After all, George Washington could have remained president as long as he wanted, but he chose to set term limits. Most people wouldn't give up power like that. Therefore, I base my opinion of his sincerity not only on the letter he wrote to Phillis Wheatly, but on the knowledge I have of his actions and character.
 * Washington/Wheatley Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-fiction
 * PRECIS:** Phillis Wheatley, a black woman who gained her freedom from slavery, and George Washington, general of the American army, wrote letters to each other, Wheatley wrote the poem " To His Excellency, General Washington", and George Washington responded with " Miss Phillis" in her poem, Wheatly states that General Washington is an excellent general, George gives thanks to Wheatley for her kind words, but claims that he cannot publish her poem for the fear of the public thinking him to be vain. After recieving Wheatley's letter George contacted Colonel Joseph Reed asking if he should publish the poem, Reed determined that publishing the peom would seem vain and General Washington agreed. Wheatley's purose was to write a poem to Washington in order to thank him for all that he has done for her and the country, Washington's purpose was to show gratitude to Wheatley for her peom and to inform her that it would unfortunately not be published. Wheatley's audience was George Washington and Washington's audience was Phillis Wheatley, they both established a form of respect towards the other in their letters.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Rushin, Steve. __Give the Kids a Break__ I strogly agree with the author that recess should be part of school. Recess is a time to run around and have fun. It gives you a break from school and gives you time to make friends. Recess helps kids get out some of their excess energy so that they can focus better in class.
 * Give the Kids a Break Presis**
 * CITAION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-Fiction
 * PRECIS:** Steve Rushin, one of the authors of //Sports Illustrated 2006//, wrote the article " Give the Kids a Break", which argues that children deserve to have recess, and it should be a part of every elementary school. Rushin uses logos by stating the percentages of what schools have considered, or are considering, to remove recess from school; Rushin also tries to bring back the readers own experiences of recess to make the reader to feel empathy for the elementary school children that might not recieve the priviledge of recess. The author's purpose is to make the reader want to keep recess in schools, in order to save recess. The intended audience is adults who had recess as children because they are the ones that will push to keep recess, and they are the ones that have the power to make a change.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Dretzin, Rachel. __Growing Up Online__ Rachel Dretzin, video writer and producer, in her film __Growing Up Online__ demonstrates that there are many dangers lurking on the internet that can be harmful to children and teenagers. Her video shows interviews with people who have felt the negative impact of the internet in either their life or the life of a child or teenager that they know, which includes a girl with eating disorders that were encouraged on the internet, a girl with a personal web page that was posting inappropriate pictures, and an interview with the father of a boy who learned how to hang himself on the internet and was encouraged by others on the internet to commit suicide. The author's purpose is to show the dangers of being online in order to help people make better decisions about what they do and say online. The intended audience is children, teenagers who go online, and their parents, the author connects with the children, teenagers, and parents, because she has interviews with people from all of their age groups. Growing Up Online faces the fact that the internet can be dangerous. Although the internet is dangerous it can also be a great tool. Without the internet I would not be able to do most of my homework. It has become a necessary tool in today's society. I think the most important thing about the internet is to just be smart. If you don't know who's talking to you don't talk to them. Don't go to bad sites, and you will be ok.
 * Class Documentary Film Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-Fiction Documentary
 * PRECIS:**
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Discovery Channel. __When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions__ The documentary was shown in a very classic format which was a little bit boring, however the original film footage from the early expeditions was really cool. It was neat to see Earth from the astronauts point of veiw. Before I watched this documentary I had not realized how many people were acutually involved in the NASA projects. It is crazy how much time and money was spent on the NASA space explorations!
 * Choice Documentary Film Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-Fiction Documentary
 * PRECIS:** Discovery Channel, an organization that has created many educational films, in their film __When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions__ shows that alot of work was put into the early NASA space exlorations and that the space expeditions have helped gain information that has changed our society. Discovery Channel states ways that space exploration has improved many scientific fields, and then shows actual film of the astronauts in training and then of the astronauts going into space, they showed film of people all around the world watching as man was sent into space. The purpose of the documentary was to inform the viewer of the tremendous effort that was put into space exploration in order to give the viewer a greater appreciate for the advances in today's society that have come because of the knowledge gained in space. The audience was intended to be an American audience so the documentary focuses on the American space expeditions however, anyone in the world could watch the film and learn about the space explorations, the technology gained in space helped benefit people all over the world, not just America.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Jefferson, Thomas. __The Declaration of Independence__ Thomas Jefferson and all of the people who signed The Declaration of Independence were very brave and couragous people. Defying the king was an act that could have gotten them killed. Had Britain won the war they could have been murdered on charges of treason. It is amazing that our Founding Fathers wrere willing to go to war to gain the freedom. Because of their sacrifice America became the land of the free.
 * Declaration of Independence Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Non-Fiction
 * PRECIS:** Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, in his historical document, __The Declaration of Independence__ declares that the American colonists want independence from Britian. He states that all men deserve " Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness",he believes that the colonies are not recieving these basic rights, and he writes a list with all of the reasons the king has not been fair to the colonists. His purpose is to declare independence from Britian in order to make America an independent nation. The intended audience is the king of England, the declaration itself causes tension between the colonies and the king because it is considered an act of treason.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Patrick Henry was a great influence on the colonists. He stated things the way he saw them without trying to sugar coat the facts. The part of his speech that stood out to me the most was when he said "give me liberty, or give me death!" Those are powerful words that really paint a picture of the severity of the situation.
 * Patrick Henry Precis**
 * CITATION: Henry, Patrick. __Patrick Henry's Speech to the Virginia Convention__**
 * CATEGORY:** Historical Speech
 * PRECIS:** Patrick Henry, an American legend, known for his __Speech to the Virginia Convention__ boldly declares that the colonies should no longer be run by Britain. He uses logic, rhetorical questions and allusions to reason that America should become independent. His purpose is to make others believe that America would be better without Britain in order to ecourage the colonists to revolt. His audience is the colony's delegates who met on March 23rd to vote what the colonies should do in regards to Britain, he has a close conection with his audience because he is a colonist and so is everybody else who was at the meeting.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**

Paine, Thomas. __Common Sense "__Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution" Thomas Paine is very important in history because he gave a better understanding to the colonists of their situation which persuaded them to revolt. Paines writing has truths that will remain constant forever. I really like when he said, "...Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil...". I this quote because it has a powerful truth and that is that every society needs some form of government or else it would be chaotic, however government generally tries to overstep it's bounds and that just creates problems.
 * Thomas Paine Precis**
 * CITATION:**
 * CATEGORY:** Historical Non-Fiction
 * PRECIS:** Thomas Paine, an influencial author, wrote in his book __Common Sense__ ,under the subheading "Of the Origin and Design of Government in General, with Concise Remarks on the English Constitution", that the logical thing for the American colonists to do was break away from the British Monarchy. He states the faults of the government and why it is bad however, he also explains why some government is necessary, but reasons why it should be as small and simple as possible. The author's purpose is to enlighten the reader about problems with the current government system in order to provoke change to create a new system of government that is based on the will of the people. His intended audience is the American colonists who at the point of it's publication are questioning their loyalty to Britian, the readers respect Paine because his writing is clear and to the point.
 * PERSONAL COMMENTARY:**