Arc of Justice

I have recently finished yet another great book, this time for U.S. History class instead of English. It is called "Arc of Justice" and is about the troubles of a 1920's family in the city of Detroit, Michigan, which was heavily segregated at the time. It depicts the outrageous level of segregation and the anti-black movement in the United States in the so-called "Roaring Twenties." Also, it is supposed to be a college-level book, yet in my school, we are assigned the book, but it is really worth the time to read.

This book, based on a true story, revolves around the life of Dr. Ossian Sweet, a man whose education level was well above that of the average African-American, and was even higher than many white Americans. He even won a scholarship to one of the only two prestigious African-American medical schools in the country, Howard University in Washington, D.C. However, all his life the terror of the white man loomed over him, ready to strike his community, like white mobs did in various cities in both the South and the North. The whites were also willing to deride him from his promising career path in the medical field. When he moved into a home at the edge of a traditionally white neigborhood, he was confronted by a mob. He had to protect his home from them, even resorting to firing a bullet into the crowd, killing a man in the process. All of the people in the home were held on trial, and they had to face the long and topsy-turvy struggle for freedom.

This story was well written and I would recommend this book to anyone who can appreciate a good book at times. Although the plot was a bit shaky, the transitions between the current state of the story and the flashbacks and bits of history were present. The examples given about segregation in the story help the reader picture what it was like to be an African-American in the early 1900's. Life for them was obviously tough during this period, and "Arc of Justice" paints a picture of this well. Also, readers can gain background information on aspects of history that play a pivotal role in this story, from the various lynchings and race riots sweeping urban areas, such as Chicago and Tulsa, to the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and their history and how they contributed to the main court case in the story.

This book paints the picture of the life of an African-American just wanting to be successful after all his hardships, including his early years in a very anti-black town, his grueling years at Howard University, and the turbulent course of the court case that changed his life for the better. It also shows the various sides that the residents of the 1920's USA have taken on the problem of racial segregation, most significantly the pro-white, pro-Protestant Ku Klux Klan and the colored-supporters in the NAACP. Overall, it is a great read and is sure to leave you satisfied in the end.

Quarter War

At Chormann Elementary School in Michigan, there is a contest between teachers and staff members called the Quarter War. The amount of money raised goes to a charity. Students put quarters in the respective milk jugs of the staff members. You can put a quarter in any milk jug that you want. The person/people with the most quarters agrees to do a wacky thing. Here are some examples:

two teachers are going to do a re-enactment of a sumo wrestling match
a teacher’s class will get to cover her with ice cream
the principal will eat a live grasshopper
the janitor will eat a dog biscuit
four different teachers will dress up like the Village People and sing the song YMCA The person with the most quarters as of Feb. 13, 2007 is the school principal. The jugs are at the lunchroom from 11:15 AM to 12:15 PM EST.


It will continue until late March, so stay tuned for updates to see who won.

UPDATE: The four male teachers that were going to sing and dance to the YMCA won, with the male teacher dressed in a tutu and the cricket-eating principal tied for second place.

Class Report

Good morning.

My name is Kenji and I am going to tell you about the Periodic Table of Elements. You may not know it, but there are elements all around us.

The first two, hydrogen and helium, are used in the process called nuclear fusion (from the Sun section of the Solar System unit). Some basics of hydrogen is that it is a colorless gas, and history would tell us that the hydrogen-filled German Hindenburg blimp exploded over Lakehurst, New Jersey, in May 6th, 1937.

Basic facts about helium is that it is also a colorless gas. Helium is also the result of nuclear fusion. The gas also makes your voice sound high-pitched and squeaky. The next element is lithium, which is commonly used in batteries. Beryllium, boron, and carbon are the next three elements in the Periodic Table. Carbon’s atoms are the most common in chemical compounds (which are element atoms fused together).

The seventh, nitrogen, is the most abundant (which means the most common) element in our solar system. The next, oxygen, is the air that we need for life on Earth.

Fluorine is the substance that is made into fluoride, which is contained in toothpaste. Neon, the tenth, is used in lights all over big cities, as well as businesses and restaurants.

Sodium is found in salt, and is also a substance in toothpaste. Magnesium is used in many forms, such as foil, ribbon, and rod. Aluminum is used in kitchen foil and for industrial purposes. Silicon is found in the sun and the stars. Phosphorus is found in many different colors, such as white, yellow, red, black, and purple. Sulfur is a yellowish color, and is sometimes broken down into smaller pieces.

Chlorine is what is added to swimming pools to keep it clean. Argon is a gas similar to neon. Bananas are rich in potassium, the 19th element. Calcium is found in milk, cheese, and other dairy foods. It also helps to strengthen teeth and bones.

We don’t know much about the next 16 elements, but we know that iron and copper, the 26th and 29th elements, are mined in Michigan’s one and only Upper Peninsula.

We also know that arsenic, the 33rd element, is poisonous, just like thallium, the 81st element, and lead, the 82nd element.

The 38th, strontium, is a chemical used in fireworks. We don’t know much about elements 39-54, but what we do know is that technetium is a radioactive element used in the field of Medicine for ex MRI.

We also know that silver is used in jewelry, even though it isn’t true silver (because other chemicals were added to prevent the silver from turning black), and that tin is used as foil, and iodine is used in medical equipment. Elements 57-71 are lanthanides, named after the 57th element, lanthanum. Only one out of these 12 elements is radioactive (promethium, 61st element). The 74th, tungsten, is used for many things, such as wire and foil.

The 78th and 79th, platinum and gold are primarily used in jewelry. The 80th, Mercury, is used in thermometers, and in naturally occurring samples, is a liquid.

Radon, the 86th element, is used for the numerals of 1950’s clocks. Radium, the 88th, glows a red light when used in a filament, and was also used to paint the hands of some clocks and watches.

We know that elements 89-118 are radioactive and that uranium is the most commonly used in nuclear fission (when uranium atoms are split by free neutrons in a reactor to conduct energy).

Americium, the 95th element, is now used in smoke alarms. Americium and 17 other elements were man-made.

Elements 104-118 has been discovered in the last 50 years. Elements 116-118 haven’t been discovered until 2005. The formation of ununoctium is when Krypton 86 and Lead 208 molecules fuse together into a compound nucleus. Then a nitrogen atom is removed. Now we have Element 118. Here’s an equation to explain it:

Kr86 + Pb208 = Uuo293 +n1
294 = 294

There are a lot of questions about elements right now, including:

Will we discover a new element?
What will the new element look like?
Will they ever change the names of the elements? (Unununium was changed to Roentgenium recently.)
Why do scientists “make” some elements? (There are 18 man-made elements.)
If they find another natural element, will they put samples in the Elements Collection? (a sample of all 92 natural elements in glass containers)

Amazing element facts!!!
Hottest boiling point: Rhenium (5,596°C)
Coldest boiling point: Helium (-269°C)
Liquid in natural phase: Bromine, Mercury
Most common in crust: Oxygen (461,000 milligrams per kg in crust)
Least common in crust: Krypton, Xenon, Rhenium, Francium, Radium, Radon, Promethium, Polonium, Astatine, Actinium, Protactinium
(<0.001 milligrams per kg in crust)

You can find out more about each element at www.webelements.com.

Field Trip #1

On the 8^th of November 2006, it was about to be a day of adventure, excitement, fun, as well as interesting facts and feats. Only one place has it all: the Walter P. Chrysler Museum. Even the night before, I was excited about the field trip. We also had to wake up early, since the school bus that was going to take me there would leave at 8:10. During the long ride, we played games associated with cars, such as looking for yellow cars on the road. When we finally got there, we watched a film about simple machines.

Here are some examples of simple machines:

• wheel
• axle
• pulley
• lever
• wedge
• gear
• worm gear

Then my group (Kameron, Shane, Shawn, Justin, Daniel, and Khaire) made a model car made out of LEGO® bricks. We also had to sell it. Ours cost $65.00 per month. After we left, I took a picture of the Viper crew (Ethan, Curtis, Christian, and Dylan). We also visited exhibits about how much power it takes to make the lights shine on an alternator and a generator, parts of an engine, and a replica of Walter P. Chrysler’s workshop. I also found out some of the differences between a 1902 Rambler and a car built at a later date. Here are some of them:

• A retractable roof
• Windshield
• More seats
• Doors
• Steering wheel
• More storage space
• Battery-operated starter   

It was a fun field trip. I am looking forward to the next field trip.

Who's Your Tiger?

You remember the Detroit Tigers defeating the New York Yankees in four games. Now they swept the Oakland Athletics to win the American League Championship Series.

In the first game of the series at Oakland, the Tigers managed to score big and win the first game.

The second game was even more exciting. Once again, the Tigers managed to pound the scoreboard. Tigers designated hitter (DH) Alexis Gomez got a 2 RBI infield hit off the glove of Athletics third baseman Eric Chavez and later hit a 2-run home run off Athletics pitcher Esteban Loaiza. Athletics right field Milton Bradley hit 2 home runs from opposite sides of home plate, being the first player in a League Championship Series to do so.

The third game was homecoming day for the Tigers. Detroit’s left fielder Craig Monroe hit a solo home run in the game. The Tigers won, 3-0, which was also their series lead.

In the fourth game, the Tigers started slowly, giving the A’s a 2-0 lead. Then later, Athletics left field Jay Payton hit a solo home run to increase the A’s lead to 3-0.

But in the 5^th inning, the Tigers managed to score 2 runs. In the 6^th inning, Tigers right fielder Magglio Ordoñez hit a solo shot that tied things up at 3.

In the bottom of the 7^th, the Tigers managed to load the bases, but Tigers first baseman Carlos Guillen turned up a double play ball to Eric Chavez, who threw to Athletics first baseman Nick Swisher to end the inning.

The A’s managed to do the same thing the Tigers did. It was all because of Tigers relief pitcher Jason Grilli, who pitched back-to-back-to-back walks to Nick Swisher, Athletics DH Frank Thomas, and Milton Bradley, but Tigers relief pitcher Wilfredo Ledezma got Athletics shortstop Marco Scutaro to pop up, and the ball was caught by Tigers catcher Ivan Rodriguez.

In the bottom of the 9^th inning, Magglio Ordoñez hit a walk-off 3-run home run off Athletics closer Huston Street to achieve what the Tigers have never did since 1984: another trip to the World Series. This is another time that the Tigers were the pitching staff extraordinaire.