Ex-student calls teacher over alleged sex abuse, posts talk on YouTube

 Sarah. "depressed." Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo. 26. May. 2009. Web. 24. Jan. 2014 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahvdl5/517705731/>

This article is about a women named Jamie that lives in California. She is 28 years old. She says that her female teacher from middle school used to abuse her for years. After more than a decade, she had build enough courage to report her teacher. She found out that the statute of limitation was up and that her old middle school teacher would never pay for what she had done to her. So she decided to do a video of her calling her old middle school teacher. She talked to the women and basically made her confess that she did abuse her. She put the video on YouTube to expose her. After a few hours the women quit her job. Officials asked why she had waited so long to report this teacher. Jamie said that she did this because she became a mother. She started thinking of what had happened to her. She wanted to protect other kids, so they wouldn't have to go through everything that she went through. She didn't want that teacher being around other kids anymore.

I think that this article does a connection with Mr. Paul's class. Last year, we had a project, that we had to research about a big problem that has been happening around the world. I think that this is a serious problem that has been happening a lot. When I watch the news, I hear a lot about kids saying that their teachers have abused them and many teachers going to jail.

I feel that this event is piteous. It's sad that there are many kids that get abused by their teachers. Teacher are the ones who are supposed to help you when you need help in a situation. I think that even though the statute of limitation was up, they should still do something about it. They should at least make sure that teacher isn't around other kids again. They should give her a punishment for what she did because if she did that to Jamie, she probably did it with other students also. This affects me because I am still in school. You never know who can be going through what Jamie did. It has came on the news that teachers have even abused 12 year olds. So apparently, age doesn't matter.

How does the author support his claim? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.
The author supports his claim by using quotes of the conversation that Jamie had with her middle school teacher in the video. Through out the passage, the author provides many details about the event and uses many quotes that Jamie said to support her details. The author also posted the video, so you can see it. For example, in the article, the author said that Jamie's middle school teacher had brainwashed her. That's why she never reported her. The author used this example to prove her point: "She said that she would kill herself if I ever left. And I believed that," Jamie said.

Yan, Holly. "Ex-student calls teacher over alleged sex abuse, posts talk on YouTube." CNN. CNN. 21. Jan. 2014. Web. 26. Jan. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/21/justice/california-teacher-alleged-sex-assault/index.html?hpt=hp_t1>

The Great White Shark

Backpackers, Hermanus. "Great White Shark Cage Diving." Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo. 10 March. 2009. Web. 12. Jan. 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/hermanusbackpackers/3343254977/>

This articles is about a male shark that has lived into his 70s. Scientist have identified their age by using a new technique to age the tissues of these creatures. Scientists have tried to age the shark by counting annual growth rings in their tissues, such as in their vertebrae. They made these rings easier to read by looking for a known radioactive marker. These great white sharks are considered as a  threatened species. The population of these sharks go down because of problems such as: fishing, environmental and other pressures.

This article connects to my biology class that I took last year. In biology class we learned about relative dating and different ways that scientists determine how old something is. In the article they figured out about how old a shark was by looking at the shark's vertebrae and tissues.

I feel that this event is very interesting. I never knew that a shark could live so long. I've hear about so many animals dying in a few years, it's surprising that a shark can live to be 70. This does affect me because I love science and it's good to learn something you never knew. I can probably use this information in the future.

What is the central idea of the passage and how is it developed and refined throughout the selection? Use evidence from the selection to support your answer.

 The central idea of the passage is that a white shark can live to be 70, the ways scientist identify their age, and the problems that the great white shark faces. Ms. Hamady states in the article, "Also, as they get older and larger, the sharks either stop laying down material or the layers become so thin they're really difficult to see. It's very fine work. I'm using a microscope and a razor and even then it's hard to get annual resolution." This quote is talking about the difficulties scientists face while trying to figure out the age of a white shark. This article also talks about the problems great white sharks face. The central idea is developed and refined throughout the article by going from good to bad. At first, the article starts out talking about a shark that has lived for 70 years and how scientists determine their age. Then, it talks about other sharks in their record that have lived for many years. Lastly, they finish off saying that these sharks are one of the threatened species and that we need the conservation of white sharks. As Ian Fergusson said in the passage, ""It puts a spotlight on the need for the conservation of white sharks to be considered on a par with the conservation we have - and take for granted - for marine mammals, which also have low fecundity, long lifespans and late maturity.

Amos, Jonathan. "Great white sharks 'live for 70 years." BBC. BBC. 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 10 Jan. 2014.

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25655666>.