RM

Still jet-lagged from his business trip to China, Barry Mino strides down the stairs to greet his guests. Everyone from his track star daughter, to his skeet-shooting brother, to his 88-year-old mother has gathered for a rare family dinner. The Vietnam draftee and Nabisco representative huddles around an open grill while recalling previous birthdays and sharing memories of his time at war. "I was just your average high school kid, I didn't ever think I'd end up training for war," Mino stats matter of factly as he flips a burger. Like many other Americans, the 18 year old Barry Mino thought that he of all people could never get drafted into the [|Vietnam War] - he was wrong. While watching the news with his family one evening, Mino received the news that he, along with every other male between the ages of 18 and 26, would have to report to basic training. "It was a big shock to me, no one really saw it coming, the only one who was really listening was mom and she didn't really say much." Even with a somber mother who begged and pleaded with her eldest son to retreat and run, the 18 year old showed the courage and bravery of a [|war veteran]. "My father had served during WW2 so I guess part of me just wanted to follow in his footsteps. He came back from Germany as a local hero; part of me glorified and envied that. My father had set the bar and I reached for it." War will always be a constant thread in life especially for the current generation. We go about our daily lives and put war on the back burner; this statement does not hold true during the 70s or at least during the 70s in the Mino household. "I was a just a kid. I didn't think war for me was a real possibility. No one did except for mom. She wasn't over protective or anything, she pretty much let us run wild about town but [|Vietnam] was a different story. She couldn't keep an eye on me there." Barry Mino turned out to be the luckiest of the unluckiest. Yes he was [|drafted into a war] but he never had to go over seas or fight a war he didn't know much about and. "I reported for basic training over in Hackensack but I never got called in. Got psyched up for nothing." And that's what Mino was: psyched. He didn't see death as something that could happen to him anytime soon. The Vietnam War was his chance to defend his country and become shining star in Emerson. "I wasn't about to die, I knew that. I didn't really think about the [|killing part] though. I didn't see that as being me. I figured I'd leave that to the guys who have been around a couple times. Guess I'll never know though." Most high school seniors fit into the same mold, a mold that makes up a lackadaisical life: go to school, do nothing with their free time, party all weekend long, at most get a part time job and play a sport. Mino's week was filled with school and his weekend involved training. “ I learned evasive procedures, the right way to throw a grenade, how to survive in the wild, all sorts of stuff that I never got to use and will probably never need to use.” There always comes a day when a person will look back on their lives and try and find that defining point that changed them; the single moment that everything made sense. My moment has yet to come but almost 40 years ago the life of Barry Mino can be summed up." There is nothing more that I cherish than my family and that will never change but looking back the Vietnam War was my chance to leave my mark on the world. I guess it's a childish need but even at 62 I'm still the same kid I was 45 years ago."media type="youtube" key="dP4GaprkAJg" height="344" width="425"

__1984__ Lesson Plan Book 1 **Title of Lesson:** 1984 Book 1 – Free Speech **What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:** **a)** The importance of [|free speech] **b)** Whether or not the government has too much control over people **Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):** Reading 3.G.11 - Analyze how an author's use of words creates tone and mood, and how choice of words advances the theme or purpose of the work. **Materials Needed and Technology Used:** **a)** Computer **b)** 1984 book **Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):** My lesson will begin with my students looking at quotes pertaining to Newspeak in 1984. This will get them to understand what is going on in the book. **Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):** The students will go to my Google Docs page so that they can read the United States [|Bill of Rights]. It will be most important for them to notice the parts which talk about freedom of speech. We will then discuss if the government today continues to uphold what the US was built on. We will also discuss why Newspeak is so damaging to society. **Closing Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):** My group will close with a quick brainstorm of what could possibly be done about the possibility of restriction of rights in America.
 * Pictures**:

The founders of the United States signing the Declaration of Independence and securing their rights.

__1984__ Lesson Plan Book 2 **Title of Lesson:** 1984 Book 2 – What People Do for Love **What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:** **a)** That love/affection is one of the main driving forces in 1984 **b)** [|People will go to the end of the world for the people they love] **c)** That 1984 is a typical love story **Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):** 3.G.11 - Analyze how an author's use of words creates tone and mood, and how choice of words advances the theme or purpose of the work. **Materials Needed and Technology Used:**   **a)** Computer **b)** 1984 book My group and I will begin by brainstorming examples where love and affection is one of the main themes in either a book/play/movie that we have either discussed in class or that the student has experienced alone. They will type them out on the [|hand-out]I have created. The examples I will be looking for are common like: Romeo and Juliet, Othello, Westside Story etc.  **Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**  The main activity of my lesson will consist of comparing 1984 with the other love stories the students have come up with. We will begin by discussing whether or not a reader sees love/affection being a main motive for Winston and Julie in 1984. We will then follow my analyzing the conversation between Winston, Julia and O’Brien on pages 172-173 of 1984. After this we will talk about why people will sacrifice just about anything to obtain love and then when they do have it, why they will do almost anything to keep it. All the answers to these questions will be answered on the hand-out and discussed amongst the group. **Closing Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):** My group will close by discussing whether or not 1984 can really be seen as a typical love story and whether or not it should be seen in the same light as novels like Romeo and Juliet.
 * Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

The symbolizing couple of love: Romeo and Julie. Is it possible that one day Winston and Julie will become the face of love?

= 1984 Lesson Plan Book 3 = = =


 * Title of Lesson**: 1984 Book 3 – Governmental Control

a) The danger of a totalitarian government b) The makings of a government like that in 1984 c) How a totalitarian government can come to power
 * What the students understand when they finish your lesson with you:**

3.C.2 - Determine influences on news media based on existing political, historical, economical, and social contexts
 * Main Standard you are achieving (the number and full description):**

a) Computer b) 1984 book
 * Materials Needed and Technology Used:**

The opening to my final presentation would start with a discussion of some of the main characteristics of the Party. I am looking for answers that have to do with how they rule, why they rule and how no one can stop them. The students will answer on the handout provided through me on wikispaces.
 * Opening Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

We will then continue with the main portion of my lesson. The students will look up past experiences of totalitarian government throughout the world (Nazi Germany under [|Hitler], Russia under Stalin, Italy under Mussolini) and compare and contrast those governments with The Party. We will see how close those governments came to complete control of their nation or the world and how they were stopped. Again, all the questions will be answered on the [|handout].
 * Middle/Main Activity Description (What the students and you are doing):**

I will close with a discussion about if The Party could ever be stopped. Will any of the things that occurred and lead to the downfall of previous governments be able to destroy The Party or is The Party completely invincible and indestructible.
 * Closing Activity** **Description (What the students and you are doing):**

Physically, Hitler and Big Brother look similar but are the ways in which they ruled the same as well?

=**Baseball**=

By Ryan Mino

Every game starts off the field; a protein filled meal will give you energy; preparation mentally is necessary to success; if you believe that you can win then you will; you have to be confident; make sure you stretch before a game; not by standing still though; then how do stretch? By moving around, running; running is very important; running will you get you prepared for the game physically; after that you throw; start short then go long; throwing long toss not only stretches out your arm but it also strengthens it; take batting practice from a live pitcher not a machine; a machine just keeps throwing straight fastballs right down the middle while a person can move it around; you have to be prepared for any kind of pitch anywhere around the plate and a person can do that, a machine can’t; infield outfield might be boring but it has hidden agendas; what are you talking about? In infield outfield the ground and fly balls won’t change but every field does and you have to get used to them; infield outfield will give you a feel for every ditch divot hill or bump on the field; game time, there can only be one winner and if you want that to be you then listen up; Okay; When you play you have to go on the field looking good; clean your uniform, I don’t want to see grass and dirt stains on it; wear your cap straight not off to the side with a little tilt, the game should be respected; your playing baseball not going out on the town; play the game hard right till the last out; it’s that simple; don’t ever quit or give up; it’s not always about winning, it’s about having fun; take each game seriously but realize it’s just a game; it’s not life or death situation; respect the other team; win and lose graciously; there’s not need to rub it in too much; if you hit a homerun take your time getting around the bases but a slow motion trot isn’t going to impress anyone; celebrate on your own time after the game with your teammates; which brings up another point; do not degrade the people on your team; you can’t go anywhere without them and remember no one is perfect, and that includes you, people make mistakes; there is no need to put someone down over an error; But what if he loses the game for us? Weren’t you listening, it’s not always about winning; baseball is a sport, nothing more than a game, it can take you great places, even get you into college, to a livelihood and a ton of money; you can stride for that but take it all in along the way; enjoy it while it lasts, cherish the memories, share the stories, look back on it in 25 years and have no regrets, don’t’ ever forget baseball.