Sarah Kroese

  Independence Middle School is located in Palos Heights, IL.  The community is known to be safe and stable with many supportive parents.  Police officers often come to the school to talk to the students about the danger of drugs and violence near the city.  The recenter behind the school allows the kids to play outside and walk around the walking path for recess. The political stance of the community and school tends to lean left but it also has a group of republicans in the reformed churches.  However, I have not seen any discrimination or harsh talk over political matters at the school.  Overall, the school is very well integrated into the community.  There are currently 230 students enrolled.  Of these students, 14% come from low-income households.  There are no homeless students in attendance and even the low-income students have their needs met by the school and families working together.  The school is not very diverse.  Abou...

            To find a person who loves that same book as you is a wonderful and enjoyable experience.  Often, the books we discuss with others are part of an elite group of novels called the classics.  Most people have at least heard of these books, even if they have not read them.  One of these novels is Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.  This famous tale of love has been hailed as a classic for decades, touching millions of hearts.  However, what makes this book a classic?  This is the question Calvino, in his article, “Why Read the Classics?” seeks to answer.  Why are some books, specifically Far from the Madding Crowd, considered classics while other books are left in the shadows?  In this paper, we will look at the idea of classics with the help of Hardy and Calvino, as well as what it means to have our own classics.           Calvino states that cla...