Hello! I hope you had an enjoyable and relaxing summer. This summer I read The Boys in The Boat, and I liked it very much. I especially loved how the author used George Pocock’s quotes at the very start of each chapter and how thoroughly the author was in writing this book. I also loved how he incorporated important events happening in Germany throughout his chapters as well. Overall, I found the book to be packed with lots of information and facts, so I had ended up taking a long time to finish the book. However, as I was reading, I thought of my band class that I took during freshman year and how Daniel James Brown’s description of determination, teamwork, and unity is related to our class’s discussion about being successful as a band. In …show more content…
For Joe, he had to constantly juggle many different things in his life. From abandonment to being poor and struggling to get by day by day during the Great Depression, he was still determined to see everything to the very end. He kept not only his academic grades up, but also his physical shape in order to continue being on the crew. It was his determination that lead him and his team to success in Berlin. This applies to my band class because it takes determination to be good at what you do-- be it handling an oar or playing an instrument. The same goes for being a part of a band and sounding good as a whole. This gives yet another reason why band students should read The Boys in the Boat. Being determined to practice and get better at what an individual or a group does opens up all sorts of opportunities in their lives, thus leaving doors open to success. In conclusion, everyone in a band must have these qualities in order to make the band operate successfully and sound great. Having determination can take one far as an instrument player-- but as a band with great teamwork, it can take one even further. The same applies to being an oarsman and being a part of a successful crew, such as the crew in the book. I hope you will consider taking up and reading The Boys in the Boat for this year’s band class. I would enjoy talking to you and your students about this
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown is a true story which illustrates the importance of grit and perseverance in the face of challenging situations. Throughout his troubled upbringing, Joe Rantz faces depressing and unfortunate events. When he was young, his mother dies, and his father remarries a harsh woman, Thula, who treats Joe dreadfully. His father can't hold a job, and his family keeps moving from town to town, which negatively impacts his social life. Eventually, Thula threatens to end the marriage with Joe’s father unless Joe leaves the family. Joe’s father accepts Thula’s request, and he abandons Joes when he is only fifteen years old. Yet in the midst of living independently at such a young age, Joe perseveres through the challenges and achieves his life’s dreams. When he is left with almost nothing, his drive to succeed ultimately leads to his triumph at rowing and to his winning of an Olympic gold medal in Berlin.
The novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in the United States in 1852. The novel depicted slavery as a moral evil and was the cause of much controversy at the time and long after. Uncle Tom's Cabin outraged the South and received praise in the North. The publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin was a major turning point for the United States which helped bring about the Civil War.
Coach Ulbrickson In the novel, The Boys in the Boat, we meet Coach Al Ulbrickson in chapter 3. The book describes him as "the least talkative man on campus" and "Man with the stone face. "(pg. 21) Coach Ulbrickson may have been a little tough at times, but he pushed the boys to their greatest potential and they went on to win the Olympics. Coach Ulbrickson's coaching style was strategic, carefully thought out, and ultimately helped the buys in the long run.
“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). The willpower to overcome adversity drives an unstoppable ambition. In The Boys in the Boat by Daniel Brown, a young man defied all odds to defeat resistance from life and the water to win the gold. Joe Rantz overcomes personal and emotional challenges throughout his childhood and college life in order to achieve his dream.
“In the Marching Band and Proud of It” by Debra Nussbaum followed the story of the marching band from Pennsbury High School in Philadelphia. In the second paragraph, Nussbaum claimed that band can be “cool”. Marching bands travel across the US, are becoming increasingly competitive, and perform more interesting shows. The Pennsbury marching band has a respected reputation in the school because they gain national recognition and have a certain prestige within the school. The prevalence of band is growing as the number of band directors and sales of sheet music grows. The author states that the prevalence of band is growing, too. Many students are involved in multiple activities while also participating in marching band. The music the band
The books The Boys in The Boat and Night have two common characters that go through similar struggles in their lives. The Boys in The Boat is written by Daniel James Brown. This story is about a poor college student who has to live without a family at a young age. He depends solely on his spot on the college rowing team to be able to support himself. Together, he, and his teammates fight through the struggles of rowing and life, rowing their way to the Olympics. The novel Night was written by Elie Wiesel. This book is about a young Elie Wiesel, whom is sent to a concentration camp with his father, who he struggles to keep alive. He has to learn how to live in his conditions and make it out alive. Joe Rantz and Elie Wiesel demonstrate resilience by questioning their faith in both God and teammates and being separated from both their families at a young age.
Purpose: The purpose of the following document is to highlight to the Board of Heritage Christian Academy the current state of, the challenges faced by, the vision for, and the future potential of the band program.
“In an age when Americans enjoy dozens of cable sports channels, when professional athletes often command salaries in the tens of millions of dollars...it’s hard to fully appreciate how important the rising prominence of the University of Washington’s crew was to the people of Seattle in 1935” (Brown 173). As seen by this quote, America is a much different place than what it was in the 1930s. The times have changed significantly. In today’s day and age we have it all too good. The world we live in is one of leisure and not nearly as much hard work as there used to be. Back in the early 20th century the people had it pretty rough and dealt with many frightening problems of their generation such as
George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on
The article “How Boys Become Men” written by Jon Katz, gives a positive statement on how boys still haven’t change and are still growing up the same. Jon Katz, shares with us while walking his dog one day, he saw a boy get beaten by a group of older boys. While walking towards him, Katz asked if he was okay; the boy said yes and begun to swing like nothing happened. I believe that what Jon Katz states is true, because the fact is; boys are always going to think they’re the Alpha Male in every situation. For example: who can climb the highest Rock, who can make a bigger splash in the pool or who can maybe get a girlfriend first.
Energy is one of the single most important concepts to keep in mind when writing, it can make even the most insignificant occurrences interesting. Energy plays with the reader’s senses combining subject matter, leaps/ spacing and words into one to create a fascinating piece of work. “Good writers choose a topic they know a lot about—relationships, travel, growing up, bedrooms, hotels, restaurants, the synagogue on 42nd Street—and they trust that they will discover things about the topic as they work.” (Sellers 71) Rick Moody author of “Boys” has taken a relatable topic the process of growing up and has turned a thirty year frame into a condensed
“Friend stopped, stood still, and braed himself.. see I’m no chicken” (Katz 221). Male maturation is a very complex sophisticated process. In “How Boys Become Men” Jon Katz takes on the challenge and head ache of analyzing this process. He explains how learning one of the central ethics of the gender is experiencing pain rather than showing fear and emotion. We do so by taken on challenges because we feel obligated to in front of our friends in order to not look cowardly. How we demonstrate machismo and lack commitment, how we do whatever we can to fit into the society around us and are willing to do anything just to resemble coolness and absolutely no tolerability of getting pushed around. It called Guy Code, a set of
This book is about a young man who attends a small West Virginian High School. He lives in a house that is located off of the coal mine that the town rests on. Homer’s dad is the manager of the mine. Homer doesn’t receive much appreciation from his father. Homer sees on television the launch of the satellite sputnik, and after seeing this he is driven to be a part of the space race. He convinces some of his friends to help him build a rocket. They used terrible materials, and the rocket blew up their mother’s fence. They go to many different people for help on ideas, math and materials. After much hard work they finally build a rocket that launches into the air.
“Children of Men” is set in the year of 2027, when the world is in chaos with the multitude of political and social issues including immigration and fascism. The movie could be classified as science fiction because it consists of two common elements of the genre: a futuristic setting and a dystopian society. There is, however, no advanced technology or artificial intelligence. The cities look just like today, except they are shabby and grimy. Everything is awash in grim to reinforce the theme of a dystopian society. The gloomy setting makes London look like it did in the 19th century with its criminal world of the time. The color palette is stark, favoring grays over other hues. The movie vividly paints a bleak and
The water beats at the bank feel gently, and resides carefully to avoid over soaking it. The air is fresh and overwhelming with cool gushes of wind blowing past, provoking the trees to yawn and some times sleep. It was a lovely Valentine day and perfect for a picnic at Lake Lavon.