Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie. That couple comes to mind when I think of chivalrous people. The couple have adopted children in need and have donated millions to charity. Some people may believe they do it just to look good, but I disagree. No one would adopt children just so they could look like a nice person. That is insane. Pitt and Jolie did it out of the kindness of their heart. Brad Pitt also started the Make It Right Foundation, it builds green, affordable, housing in New Orleans. Jolie has donated $8 million to charity. If that's not chivalrous then I don't know what is.



Bill Gates. Photograph. Tech Journal. Techjournal.org. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://www.techjournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/bill-gates.jpg>.



Someone who has been successful, but has also assisted others would be considered chivalrous. This description fits Bill Gates. He has made billions from Microsoft, and has donated much of it back to benefit society.  He has given back $29,000,000,000 towards education and AIDS-prevention.  He is also the founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which acts worldwide to limit poverty and disease, better education, and make technology more available for students.

Chivalry

My example of chivalry today was a man named Welles Crowther.  He was a Boston College graduate, he had a Bachelors degree in Economics.  His prized possession was a red bandana given to him by his father when he was a kid.  He worked as an investment banker on the 104th floor of the South Tower in New York City.  When the plane hit the South Tower on 9/11, he covered his mouth and nose with the bandana to protect him from debris.  He returned into the burining tower 3 times to help people and is directly responsible for saving 12 lives. His body was found 6 months later on March 19, 2002 in the lobby of the South Tower.  He was named a honorary New York City Firefighter and Boston College holds an annual 5k road race in his honor.  He is known as the Man with the Red Bandana.  I think he is an exellent example of chivalry today.

I also believe that Chivarly does still exsist in todays world and it always will. The person, well persons i am going to choose will be the men and women of our armed forces. I decided to pick them becasue i think that they are very chivarlist. These are the people that our putting their life on the line to protet our country and everyday and all day. These people also are the ones that had their own choice to decided if they wanted to go into the Army, Air Force, Navy, or whatever they have decided to go into. Also these people really dont get as much credit as they should.

Chivalry Today

I do think chivalry exists in today's world. I think a good example of a chivalrous person would be Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi fought for his country against the British rule by using non-violent protests. What he did was for his country but he did not anyone to be hurt along the way. Gandhi ended up paying the ultimate price for his chivalry, as he was assassinated. As he was trying to work out a way to make both the Muslims and Hindus in India happy, he was assassinated by a man who thought Gandhi was too sympathetic towards the Muslims. That is why I believe Gandhi was a very chivalrous man.  



Chivalry 2012

 I think that this picture is a perfect example of how people and mostly women see chivalry in today world. Women want ment to treat them like a lady and to be chivarvis but then they get mad when men say things like let me help you with that its too heavy for you. Everything can be seen both ways, but I think more chivalry would be shown in the world today if men weren't getting yelled at for being sexist. Like this link to an article about men holding doors for wowmen being sexis and bad.http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2003821/Feminists-claim-men-hold-open-doors-women-SEXIST-chivalrous.html
In todays world, I think a good example of chiverly would be Zac Effron's character in the movie "17 Again".  He shows that you have to treat a woment like a lady no matter what and that even high school students should show it becasue its just the right thing to do. He shows that it works out in their favor and that all young men should be brought up like that.

If I think about chivalry today, one person I think of is Tim Wakefield. He was a great pitcher for the Red Sox, and stuck with them for 17 years. But of course, baseball players make a lot of money, and Tim gave a lot of that back to people in need. He is known as one of the most generous MLB players ever. He has been nominated for the Roberto Clemente award 8 times and won it in 2010. It is awarded to the player that  "best exemplifies the game of baseball, sportsmanship, community involvement and the individual's contribution to his team." And it is voted on by fans and the media.  He donates to many charities every year, especially those that involve helping kids in need, such as the New England's Pitching in for Kids organization.

Michael J. Fox Foundation

Michael J. Fox

Michael J. Fox is a man who shows much chivalry. He has a disease called Parkinson's Disease. This disease ruins your brains control of the movement of your muscles. He has ignored his own struggles with it, and has created the Michael J. Fox foundation to help raise money to find a cure for this disease.

I chose Elen Degeneres as someone who shows chivalry becasue she is always helping others. She has many charities and is always giving back to her fans. She also is humble and loyal to her fans. She does not let her being famous get to her head. She reflects some of the qualities like the men in the stories that we have read this week in school.

Chivalry Today

I think that in the world today there is still a form of chivalry, but it is not exactly the same as back during the Arthurian time period. I believe that Nelson Mandela is one of these people. He was loyal to a cause, and fought for what he thought was right. He is known for his patriotism towards his country, and for his helping of his fellow countrymen. This is the form of chivalry that I think that is still around today. People helping each other and working together to overcome differences.

Chivalry Today

I think chivalry still exists today, although not in the same way as it was back in the time of the Arthurian legend. There are still people out there that help others for no reason other than they feel they need help. They are doing it out of kindness and don't take anything for their actions. They are very humble about who they are and what they do and known for their respect for others. One person that comes to mind is Harrison Ford. He is not only known for his acting but for being modest about his community services. Ford is known for piloting airplanes and helicopters, and when the earthquake happened in Haiti a few years ago, he donated his time for flying doctors and scientists from America over to Haiti to help those in need. He also volunteers as a food server for the homeless around Thanksgiving in Los Angeles. Ford is chivalrous because he does this community services out of kindness and he takes nothing for his help other than many people's thank yous.




Chivalry Today

I do think leaders and heroes with qualities like the men from the books still exist. They were very caring and helped others no matter what even if it was dangerous. I don't think chivalry is the same as it was back then though. It's not still about putting coats over puddles or anything but it is about caring for and helping other people. Not just people you know or people that can't help themselves but everyone. Someone I think cares for and helps other people is Oprah. She built schools in Africa to help people she knew nothing about.

Chivalry Today?

Question 7: Connect to Life

Do you think leaders and heroes with qualities like those of Uther, Arthur, and Launcelot still exist in today's world?

Explain your opinion.

As we did in "The Things They Carried" present your answer as a post rather than a comment.

If you think such leaders and heroes exist today, explain and include a picture of the person who demonstrates elements of the Arthurian Hero.

If you think such leaders no longer exist, explain and recognize the last leader who had those qualities (with picture)

OR

explain and describe the type of person who becomes a leader today (with picture).

Sir Lancelot Du Lake: Q. 2 and 3 or 4

When you hear someone say, "Chivalry is not dead!" a man has usually done something kind and deferential for a woman, child or elderly person. After reading this selection, do you know what that means?

2. Judging from the behavior of Sir Launcelot and the other knights in this selection, how would you describe the chivalric code by which they live?
Think about any or all of the following situations as you consider your answer:

• the reasons knights fight
• Sir Launcelot's reaction to the four queens' proposal
• Sir Launcelot's answer to Sir Tarquine's questions about his identity
• Sir Tarquine's reaction to the fighting skills of Sir Ector and Sir Launcelot

Select either of the following questions for your comment:

3. Do you think that Sir Launcelot is truly heroic? Why or why not?

4. What is your opinion of the female characters in this story?

Le Morte D'Artur: Questions 2 and 3

Now that you have had an introduction to Arthurian legend, think about the connections to other literature you have read and to your own life experience.
Is there anything familiar here? Although I have never read Harry Potter, I am curious to know if you see some relationships to those novels and movies? How about to Lord of the Rings? Do we still value these qualities? Have we moved on to another definition of hero?

2. How much control would you say the characters have over their lives?

• Uther's passion for Igraine and the way he makes her his wife
• What happens to Igraine's sister and daughter after her wedding
• Merlin's comment that Arthur is destined for glory and the instructions he gives for Arthur's care
• Arthur's discovery that he is heir to the throne

3. In your opinion, does Arthur deserve to be king?

• the sacrifices other people must make to bring him to power
• the support he receives from the common people
• the kind of person he seems to be

KWL: Arthur, Camelot, and Quests

Who is Arthur?
Where is Camelot?
What is a quest ?
Why are they importnat in literature (and, of course, life)?

In your comments:

• What do you know about Arthurian legend and the code of chivalry?
• What was the big quest of the Knights of Camelot?

• In other words--what do you know and what do you want to learn?

Common Core: Informational reading

The Common Core State Standards for literacy in the English Language Arts [CCSS for short] outline what students at grades 9 and 10 are supposed to know and be able to do on page 52 of its document, page 58 of the electronic document. The link is to the right.

In your comments, please share what you think of the document and its expectations regarding informational literacy.

How does your text help students at that grade learn what they need to learn to achieve these standards? 

Check the suggested titles in the appendix--is your author there?

Non-fiction: What are you learning?

What are you learning about non-fiction by creating the teachers' guide for your book?

• You may write a paragraph or create a bulleted list.
• If you have any project questions, list them here.

If you are having an issue with Publisher or Blogger, ask your questions here and anyone can go ahead and answer it.

Teachers' Guide: Formatting

For your Non-fiction book, of course!

In your comments, please indicate

1. what type of guide you are working on and why;
2. what parts beyond the required you are toying with;
3. what questions you have about the project and process; and
4. what part of the project should be assigned the greatest weight and why.

Please consider trying a different format, like a book-based blog.

Non-Fiction: Dr. Ted Figlock, guest speaker

My dad, Dr. Ted Figlock, spoke today in our class about his experiences in Vietnam, 1970-71. I hope that his talk helped you to think about history and non-fiction in a new way. I am always impressed with the clarity of details and the vivid recollections he has of his experience during that year.He has shared these autobiographical accounts with my own classes when I was a student and several times to my students here at AHS. Perhaps you will consider writing a memoir of your own, and sharing your experiences with students in the future.

In a special way, I am grateful for your welcoming of my dad and your attentive listening--when he returned to the US in 1971, many people were not so kind to veterans.Thank you for your kindness today.

In your comments, feel free to 

• ask any questions;
• make any observations that you would like to share with my dad; or 
• share anything you have learned about memoir, autobiography or history today that makes you appreciate informational/ explanatory texts in a new way. 

The lives you are living now are the non-fiction of the future!

Teacher's Guide Format

One test of understanding an idea or concept is your ability to explain it to someone else, and hence, our project for reading non-fiction.You are asked to review various techer guides and create your own for the work of non-cition you are reading. The assignment lives over at the Dr.G. Virtual Office in the G10 section, and you can get there from the link to the right.

Not only will this be evidence of your understanding but the beginning of a database of guides for non-fiction for teachers and students at Abington High School. We will all be reading more non-fiction acorss various content areas, and we all can use a trusted guide as we begin to work with a new genre.

Consider the following formats: web-page, book, booklet, brochure or Jackdaw.
Suggest a new format that is an amalgam or these--experiment!
You know what students need most.

1. In your comments, describe the kind of guide that will be most helpful to the reader of your book.
2. List the features you will include.
3. Feel free to ask any questions about the assignment here, too.