Tuesday Write: Leadership

A leader who had made a difference to me was a boy named Addison. Addison is in my Boy Scout troop and is very smart and selfless when it comes to helping others. Last summer, I went on a 70 mile hike down at a camp in New Mexico called Philmont. Before we went we had to have a leader for the trip. No one really wanted to take that job but when Addison stepped up to be the guide, we were all relieved, but, no one really thought of Addison as being a leader. He has always been the “piggy” of the troop, and surprisingly, Addison did a great job. We listened to him when he told us to do things, well most of the time. He was very logical about every campsite we stayed at and every trail we hiked. He was very nice, respectful, and listened to all of our requests, he also did his fair share of work. But one night we were going to put the bear bag (a bag that is filled with all of the food so the bears don't come into our camp) and another kid on the trip, Jack, stepped on a rattle snake and we all ran away, but Addison scared it away and made it safe to pass. Without him, we would probably be dead. So, at the end of the trip everyone was fine, living, and had no broken bones. Addison had done a great job as a leader! Just like Ralph in Lord of the Flies, he rose up by himself and found his true potential.

Kathy Reichs’ “Virals”

Review by Richard-Thomas Gliozzi

“A gunshot is the loudest sound in the universe. Especially is the bullet is coming at you. Crack! Crack!  Bullets slashed the forest canopy. Overhead, monkeys screeched and scattered. Down Below, I ran. Heedless, legs hammering, I pounded through the undergrowth. Mind blank. Terrified” (1).

Virals is a science fiction

novel was created in 2010, about Tori Brennan, a typical 14 year old girl, and her adventures on Morris Island. With her friends Kit, Ben, and Hiram, they explore the island and come across strange things that lead to unsolved mysteries. But when they realize that one of thewolf dog pups is missing, they go and investigate to then find out that it is infected with a virus that will soon change everything for them. Missing people, unsolved murders, strange scientists, what will happen to Tori and her friends? Will they survive?

I found that this book was very entertaining and made you never want to put it down. The story was idealistically put together and the plot of the book was genius. I don't know how there could be so much action in one book. But Kathy Reichs made it possible. Even though the story was about a virus and what happens when you metal with life, but to me it was mostly about friendship and never giving up on what you want to achieve. Just like how Tori never gave up on finding out the truth and saving an innocent man of something he has not done.

Virals was very well written. This story is very stimulating and inspiring, strengthened by captivating characters and appealing and expressive scenes. Describing something like imagery is being spun like thread, “Cool air oozed from the darkness, bringing with it the smell of soft grass and the sound of  fresh rolling fields” (79). As Tori Brennan is having dreams about this field, she is exerting emotions about her, her friends, and the wolf dogs. She does not know what this dream means but she wants to find out. This makes the reader really think about what this dream will bring for Tori and how it will effect the story.

There are parts of this book that we can not relate to. Like for the fact that we are not solving a murder and that we are not following wolf dogs around. Either way, in this story, you can feel the love that Tori has for these dogs and how she wants to save them. And all of the question she has about the strange dog tag she finds and how it ties her and her friends into a dangerous adventure. To the people who are reading this book, it is almost like Tori is making you apart of her life.

This book was very captivating and I would rate it a 10! I loved it and would really recommend it. It is one, in a series of three. I have not read the other two but I bet they are just as great a the first! Kathy Reich is an author that really wants kids to read more. So her main audience is children and wanting them to explore more and that reading can take you far!

Reich, Kathy. Virals. SCHOLASTIC INC. 2010

The Warren Harding Error: Why We Fall For Tall, Dark, and Handsome Men

          In this chapter of The Warren Harding Error, many things stood out to me. Like the stereotypes and when you had to match up the scenarios and the genders and the good and bad. It was hard but it is the truth. If you want a leader you will automatically go for the person who is better looking, it is just our instinct. But not always do the most attractive people make the best leaders. Just like in this chapter. Warren Harding was tall, dark, and handsome. But after all of the people voted for him and he became the leader, they realized he had no qualities of a strong leader. He was not good at making decisions and no one wanted him after they knew the truth. This kind of ties in with don't always trust with what you see. 

One thing we take away from this chapter is that appearance is not everything. You can be super rich and attractive but people don't really know the real you and what you have to offer us and if you are willing to be our leader. And they only way we can avoid this is to really think about it before going with our unconscious bias. Don't just make a decision before you really know if they are the right person, just voting for some guy that you "think" would be a good leader is not enough. And this ties into leadership qualities. They would have to be intellectual, know how to make good decisions for us, and listen to the people he is representing. They would want people to like them and think about everyone and not themselves. 

       
         For the IAT test, i took the flowers and insects and the race tests. For the flowers and insects I was not surprised. I liked flowers more than insects and I knew that was going to happen. But on the race test I really didn't know what was going to be my choice. But in the end preferred european children over african american children. That I was also expecting to happen. But when I finished the test I was thinking back to the race test and I do think that I made some unconscious decisions. Like when something was bad I would have probably hit the African American child and if something was good I would hit the European child. I am not racist but that is the stereotype these days. And that is what children know as they grow up in this generation. 

Discovery Leadership Summit 2009: Malcolm Gladwell