At the end of my book (The Spy Who Came in From the Cold), Leamas and Fiedler are arrested by Mundt for conspiring against the Communist regime, the Praesidium (Leamas also for murdering a guard). Fiedler thought ahead though, and he brings up enough evidence to arrest Mundt for being "...the agent of an imperialist power." (pg. 169) A tribunal is held to determine who is guilty and Liz Gold (Alec's lover) is brought in as a witness for she is a Communist. The tribunal plays out and Leamas soon realizes that Mundt is a double agent. Fiedler then is found guilty for conspiracy against the Communist regime and sentenced to death. Mundt helps Liz and Alec escape the prison and while trying to cross the Berlin wall, the East German sentries shoot Liz. Alec then makes a decision that if he were to go back there would be nothing for him and decides to end his life with Liz.
This book matters because it shows the value of human actions. In this book the character's actions greatly change the outcome of each scenario. Once an action is taken it cannot be taken back and that can bring both good and bad in the outcome. This is still valuable today because everybody makes decisions and takes actions. The most valuable takeaway from this book is that what you see on the outside may not be what a person is on the inside. Throughout the book the characters learn more about one another and it greatly changes how they perceive one another. For example, Liz never realized that Alec was a spy, she just saw him as the quiet guy in the library who was her lover. Liz was shocked when learned that he was a spy and it caused her much regret and confusion for what she did. "She was becoming frightened for herself; these questions which proceeded from charges and suspicions of which she knew nothing." (pg. 190) In conclusion, this story was a lesson for all of the characters. It taught them how much one small thing can have on a person's life and how first impressions of people may not be what they really are on the inside.
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From 1947 to 1991 the U.S. was in a conflict with a country formerly known as the Soviet Union. This conflict was known as the Cold War and it affected many more countries than the Soviet Union and the U.S. One specific example is Germany, during the Cold War Germany was divided into two parts, an East Germany and a West Germany. The West side was controlled by western, capitalist countries (U.S.A, France, and Great Britain) while the East side was controlled by the Soviet Union.
In am reading the Spy Who Came in From the Cold which is a historical fiction story about Alec Leamas who is a British spy that is sent on a final mission to East Germany after his last spy/agent (an East German defector) gets killed. His boss gives him one last mission but a series of events must occur before the mission officially starts. Through tense interrogation, he eventually earns the trust of the East Germans. With the help of one man, Fiedler, he plans to complete his mission of killing Hans-Dieter Mundt. In 1989 the Berlin Wall came down unifying Germany. Germany is now a capitalist country and one which we have a strong alliance with. On the other hand, the Soviet Union (present day Russia) is a country which we still have conflicts with. The effect of the Cold War on our relationship with Russia has made it very tense. During the Cold War as my book depicts, the Soviet Union had spies which would find Western Europe government secrets. This is reflected in current day issues because in modern politics there is much talk about the Russian hacker/hacking which has had an effect on the most recent election and much media. Though espionage occured on both sides of the Iron Curtain, it has affected the trust between the U.S. and Russia. During the Cold War, though little is mentioned of it in the book; both sides has allies during this time, Russia had satellite countries and the U.S. had Western Europe behind them. Russia and U.S. today still fight against one another but in a different battle. One that occurs in a conflict between U.S. and Syria, Russia provides military aid to Syria through weapons and U.S. is fighting against these weapons which Syria uses. The conflicts between both of our countries have been going on for almost a century, the Cold War was the start of the fire and now the fire is burning. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold takes place during the Cold War shortly after the Berlin Wall has been put up. Alec Leamas is a British agent and he sees his last spy get shot down by East German sentries while trying to get across the Berlin Wall. This leaves him without a job because he has no agents left. His boss (Control) then gives him one last mission but he must be removed from the scene to do it. He therefore “quits” his job and starts living the life of a drunk man which gets him into jail and officially “starts the mission.” What is his mission? His mission is to go undercover as an East German agent and kill Hans-Dieter Mundt, the leader of the Abteilung.
Though the characters in the story are not the same as in real life, many events that occured in the book reflect real life events. While the Berlin Wall was up (1961-1989), hundreds of people were killed trying to get across tp Western Berlin. Along with that, there was much espionage involved and hate towards the opposing side during this time. Cold War spies were recruited by countries involved in the Cold War and would play their opposing side to help retrieve valuable information. The main character in this book, Leamas has a very prominent hate towards communists or communism (as shown): "If it's a question of killing Mundt, I'm game" and "Oh, Liz... oh no. You're not a bloody Communist?". Many people living in capitalist, democratic societies at this time hated communism and the communists, they were afraid of them and both sides widely did not accept each other (as what occured in the 1980 and 1984 olympics). Overall, this book gives a good perspective of a spy during the Cold War, both what they went through and what they had to do. In today’s society, school is a major part of a child’s life. However, some students don't take their education seriously and this can lead to lower grades. This could be for a number of different reasons, for example, a poor student to teacher ratio or poor learning circumstances. While the amount of students on grade level in Wake County is up from last year, the overall trend has been down in the past five years (ncpublicschools 2012-17). Students are not performing on tests and there were over 10,000 dropouts in North Carolina in 2015-16 (ncpublicschools 2017). Of the 110 elementary schools in Wake County that we have statistics for, 37.3 percent did not meet growth expectations for the 16-17 school year (ncpublicschools 2017). So after graduating high school, or not, these students are dispersed into our community, where they don't have the experience or skills to add anything too it. This is a really big issue because we want to make our community better, adding more jobs and a better economy to the region. Frankly, I would love a community full of smart educated citizens who make good choices, that help benefit our community. I know my group members and I had a good elementary school education, and I know that has really helped shape who I am. I remember receiving help from tutors, talking to kids older than me, and just plain asking for help. This led me to understand more of the topics we would study. Plus, there's an easy fix, with just a little help from our community, giving a little bit of time to help these elementary schools whose performances are lacking, doing something so simple as reading to students or helping them with math, we can turn this issue around, making our community better along the way. North Carolina Schools The issue we are focusing on, is that grades in some Wake County elementary schools are very low and a lot of schools are not meeting their yearly goals. Last year, forty one elementary schools in Wake County didn’t meet their growth standards (ncpublicschools 2017). This issue has a huge impact on our community. Some school performance grades are really low and it poorly affects the school’s appearance. These students who either need help or are just not trying, are really a big part of the issue. For example, Bugg Elementary School got a thirty four percent on their overall school performance grade (ncpublicschools 2017). The students who go to these schools, will forever be affected by this issue and growth standards. They aren’t getting the proper education that they need and from that, they will always be behind. It is important that we help them grow so they are able to share their knowledge with the world. Specifically, this has always been an issue in our community though it has become more of a struggle in the past few years. When kids are younger, they are not taught to take school seriously. Kids need to have a role model early on in their lives to teach them the importance of having knowledge. The lack of these role models is a big cause of this issue. In the future this leads to poor grades and a high number of student dropouts. Also, after graduating these kids will become a part of our community but they won’t have the knowledge or experience to give. These students not having a proper education affects us all because they are the future. Everyone’s future relies on these kids and what they are able to accomplish, which is why this is a large issue that needs to be solved immediately. However, this issue cannot be solved immediately. Though there are several organizations that are available to mentoring children, the problem is most of them are out of school rather than in school with the students. Of the several organizations in North Carolina, they all offer help in one area or another to give students chances at better lives. Some organizations for example, the Boys and Girls Club of America, help students by organizing programs out of school focused on certain topics. These programs allow students to understand the importance of certain topics such as career development, education, and health (Boys and Girls Club of America 2017). They allow students to develop skills needed to have a positive impact on our community. Other organizations such as the Triangle Literacy Council, work one on one with students to try and see where they are struggling and help in the areas that help is needed. Organizations like those are more focused on giving students the information needed to graduate high school and go on to college which from there they can acquire jobs. Mentors inc. for example, works with older students in high school on academic subjects such as STEM to develop skills for 21st century jobs. One of their goals through their program is to give every student “... the support or guidance needed to graduate high school, prepared to be successful and productive citizens.” (Mentors inc. 2016). In other words, they are preparing their students for a brighter future. Overall, through the work of organizations offering these programs, we can make our community a better place through the educations of the younger generations. Action Plan There are many steps that need to be done and requirements that need to be met before we start mentoring. The most glaring requirement is a school to mentor at, this however has already been solved, and it has been decided that we will be mentoring at Bugg Elementary. This is because they have been falling behind in all subjects, and may need additional support (ncpublicschools 2017). The second most important requirement is volunteers, which is more difficult. The current plan for getting enough people to help is to advertise around the school for a month or two before they are required, (perhaps even ask for a shoutout on the morning announcements) the goal is to have at least 40 volunteers and at least 1 adult chaperone for every 10 students. After volunteers, there aren't many other requirements that need to be met that can’t be easily acquired out of pocket. Our goal is to show struggling students the value of school before they get that annoying “I hate school attitude” that some kids tend to develop. A study by The University Of Nebraska, developing strong reading habits can increase academic performance (Acheaw 2014). The catch is that these habits must be formed while the children are impressionable and before they develop the idea that reading isn't fun. Because of this, our focus on the mentoring may be more on reading primarily and focus on subjects such as math and history as secondary focuses. If possible, we hope to get into contact with the school administrators at bug elementary to determine what subjects the students may need additional help with. By the end of this project we hope to have inspired at least 1 student to take school seriously and focus on their education. Works Cited Sonneman, Curtis.”2016-17 State, District, and School Level End-of-Course and End-of Grade Achievement Level Report.” Public Schools of North Carolina. 29 Nov. 2017. 24 Jan. 2018 <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/reporting/2017/reports /1617testresults.xlsx> Sonneman, Curtis. “2016-17 School Performance Grade Score and Growth Status.” Public Schools of North Carolina. 29 Nov. 2017. 24 Jan. 2018 <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/accountability/reporting/2017/reports/spg1617.xlsx> Public schools of North Carolina.”Report to the North Carolina General Assembly.” Public schools of North Carolina. 15 Mar. 2017. 23 Jan. 2018 <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/research /discipline/reports/consolidated/2015-16/consolidated-report.pdf> Boys and Girls Club of America. “Club Impact.” Boys and Girls Club of America. 24 Jan. 2018 <https://www.bgca.org/about-us/club-impact> The News and Observer. “2015-16 NC school performance” The News and Observer. 1 Sep. 2016. 22 Jan. 2018 <http://www.newsobserver.com/news/databases/article98569482.html> Nguyen, Arly. “The value in mentoring youth” Social Work License Map. 30 Jan. 2015. 22 Jan. 2018 <https://socialworklicensemap.com/the-value-in-mentoring-our-youth-> Triangle Literacy Council. “Programs.” Triangle Literacy Council” 23 Jan. 2018 <http://www.triangleliteracy.org/learn/programs/> Mentors Inc. “Mentoring with career and STEM exploration” Mentors Inc. 23 Jan. 2018 <http://www.mentorsinc.org/about-us/our-program/mentoring-with-career- and-STEM-exploration> Public schools of North Carolina. “State/ LEA and school test performance” Public schools of North Carolina. 2012-17. 23 Jan 2018 <http://www.ncpublicschools.org/accountability /reporting/leaperformancearchive/> Archeaw, Michael.”Reading Habits Among Students and its E ect on Academic Performance: A Study of Students of Koforidua Polytechnic.”digitalcommons. June 4th, 2014. January 29th 2018.<https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2908&context =libphilprac> Homelessness among Wake County students has been increasing for the past few years and the problem is trying to keep the students in school. Whether we notice it or not this issue affects the classroom environment in different ways. Our classrooms and schools have to be ready to understand the backgrounds that these students come from, the challenges they may have faced, and be able to deal with them and give the student an education. I am interested in this issue because I believe that everybody should be given the chance of acquiring a decent education regardless of where they come from. I also think that others should care about this issue because it may affect their learning in the classroom. Communicate with students and staff in the school to help address the problem and pose solutions to help these students both in school and out. The problem should be noticed rather than ignored and when efforts are made, the students will stay in school and give themselves a better chance at a greater future.
Citation: www.wral.com/local-nonprofit-partners-with-wake-schools-to-combat-homelessness/12948222/ This I Believe Miyako Briggs I believe that in the past, present, and most likely the future, people will always be treated differently and have different standards of life. Though it may not be self evident, I believe that the problem will always exist in different forms and should be focused on if wanted to be fixed. It exists among all people, groups, and countries. This is expressed through a country’s standards of life, different people have different expectations on what society should give them to work with. All throughout my life I have been judged or addressed as smart or “intellectually gifted”. But what is that supposed to mean? I have never known and never have quite understood it but it somehow makes people think that they are somehow less fortunate than me. Sure I got all of the As and 100s but does that mean that I got a better education? Better teachers? No, I believe it does not. In the first quarter of eighth grade my lowest grade was a ninety-seven along with four 100s, my brother’s lowest grade was a seventy-two (he being in 6th grade at the time) and no 100s. People were shocked. They all asked me how are your grades so good?! Why are you so much better than your brother?I didn’t have an answer, I just simply replied “I don’t know”. Though it was not the beginning I remember it occurring the most in middle school (I had never gotten below an “A” average, straight As). Yet, this somehow made me different, I didn’t see myself as different but other people did. Specifically, we are all given the same opportunities in life but we are the ones that choose what to do with what we are given. We are all different and unique in who we are but we should all be the same in the equity of what we’re given. Yet, there are people in the world of the cruelest nature that take away what others are given. Why? Do they see the people as having more opportunity than them so they need to take it away? This is sadly reality, not everybody is given equal opportunities though they are available. One thing that I see in society is what people say and notice about how people in lesser developed countries are unfortunate. That is from our perspective though, to them they may consider themselves as very smart and work with what they are given unlike us. In our society we expect a lot of ourselves in how we do on school and in our actions because we're given the opportunity to have a good education. In other countries they may expect themselves to excel in things like sports or in what their society has given them to work with. In conclusion, none of us are smarter or better than one another, instead I think we are all given equal chances. We are all given the same opportunities to be smart, different, or better at something but you have to make it happen. I realized this because whatever I did to try and change myself had no effect, you have to want it. For example, I tried to stop reading books for a while to see if it would make any short term difference, it didn't because I wanted to stay who I was but try to change my performance in school. In the end, showing people that I know nothing has been the hardest battle of my life, for all they know they probably know more than me. Lastly, I believe that it isn’t knowledge that gives us power but what’s given to us that gives us the same opportunities in life, this I believe. |
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