TOW #30: Letter to a New APELC Student

Dear New APELC Student,

            Congratulations on your decision to take APELC! You are a student in one of the most important classes in your high school career. The knowledge that you will learn in this class has the ability to help you in all of your classes and future tasks. You will be taught how to write correctly, and you will see major improvement as the year progresses.

            The beginning of the school year may be difficult, but it is very important to not give up. If you make the most out of all of your assigned work, you will learn a lot from the interesting texts and you will improve your writing more quickly. Even though there may be a lot of work at times, and the work may be very difficult, it is important to remember that the work is there to help you improve as a student. You also have to keep in mind that the grades that you receive in the beginning of the class will not be your grades at the end of the school year. There will be tremendous improvement in your grades as you grow as a writer during the course of the class.

            APELC is much more enjoyable to be in than your other junior year classes. Almost every class is setup like a discussion in APELC providing you with the ability to ask questions and learn from other students. Do not feel shy to share out your ideas and ask questions for Mr. Yost and the class. If you ever feel like you are having trouble in the class do not be afraid to approach Mr. Yost; he is always there to help you. Mr. Yost makes himself available for his students if you ever have a concern or question that could use his help.

            Do not stress about the AP Exam. The class prepares you more than enough for the test. If you put forth your best effort in this class you have the ability to expand your knowledge, greatly improve upon your writing ability, and have a great time in APELC.

Sincerely,

Austin Brush

TOW #29: "Bowling for Columbine"

Why is it that school shootings have become such a common occurrence in the United States? Michael Moore filmed “Bowling for Columbine” to try to examine that question. He looks into entertainments effect as well as many other possibilities as to what is making shootings in America a common occurrence. Moore focuses on one of the most recognized school shootings, the shooting at Columbine High School, to begin his examination. Along the process of the film he often mentions the NRA and meets with the president of the NRA personally to question whether or not the right to own guns in America is the reason for the shootings. Moore uses irony as well as an interrogating tone to try to find the purpose and possibly lead to the end of public shootings in the United States.

One of the most impactful scenes in “Bowling for Columbine” was Moore's decision to bring victims from the shooting at Columbine High School to Kmart headquarters, an example of his use of irony. At the headquarters, Moore and the victims asked to return the bullets that were inside of the victims’ bodies. Moore and the victims believed this to be justified because the shooters at Columbine High School purchased the bullets at Kmart. Since the bullets injured the victims and were now in their possession they believed that Kmart was partially at fault for the shooting, so they should be able to make the return. After waiting for a long period of time, Moore and the victims had an opportunity to speak with a Kmart representative and were successful in achieving one goal. Kmart took action against the sale of many of their automatic weapons. Moore's use of irony enabled him to directly cause a change as well as make an impactful scene that made the documentary very memorable.

Moore also used an interrogating tone to question the roots of the gun violence in American society. He examined violent video games as well as other forms of entertainment to see if they could be the cause of the violence. He concluded that many other countries have the same forms of entertainment as America, but they do not have the same abuse of guns. Because of this, Moore questioned another possibility to be the root, legal gun ownership and the NRA. Moore showed many NRA rallies and even spoke with the president of the NRA to question their practices. The NRA held rallies at many locations that had experienced gun violence; Moore questioned their reasoning for doing so. The viewer ponders, why would pro-gun ownership supporters hold rallies in locations that have experienced loss because of the right to own guns? This was why Moore took his questions directly to the leader of the NRA and asked what impact he believes the NRA has on gun violence. The gestures and answers were astonishing and were the reason why Moore's interrogating tone helped him possibly find the reason for gun violence in America. Michael Moore uses irony as well as an interrogating tone to question the roots of gun violence in American society.