These are the results of the first practice paragraph
sent by my 2:00 Developmental Writing Students on August 25, 1999

S1:

"Boys surival is called"Mircle Of God"

The article was about a four year old who was traaped in rubble in Turkey. Everyone thought he had died like most of his family. After 146 hours of being alone his uncle stumbled accross him. His uncle thinks it was the "mircle of God." The poor boy had to wait a couple of days for food and drink because his kidneys were in such bad shape from dehydration. Luckly, the boy is getting better and his mom is alive.He has no toys, but a paper planr but is greatful to be alive but misses the others that was lost.

S2:

Something that has happend in the news lately has been the Cardinals bringing up top prospect Rick Ankiel. Ankiel is only 20-years old. He has been in the Cardinals minor-leagues since he ahs been 18. He throws 95 mph fastball, with a curve ball that is unhittable, and a change-up that he is inproving on. In his first start he pitched well, but the Card still lost. With Ankiel on the Cardinals there pitching furture looks bright.

S3:

All students at a high school in east St. Louis are now being forced to wear uniforms to school. In my opinion that could be a good thing because parents can save money on clothes and also students won't feel pressured to dress a certain way. But it can also turn out to be a bad thing. I don't think parents should have to spend their money on school uniforms. The uniform thing just makes parents spend more of their money on something that is supost to be a free and appropriate education. Even though half of the time it doesn't prove to turn out that way. I think it is good for the students to wear uniforms, but I think the school should have to pay for it.

S4:

I was watching Fox Files, A telivision news show. They were doing a article about nation wide Pharmicies, and how they were just throwing away the records of patients medical historys. Fox Files was going behind the stores and looking in the garbage. They kept finding big plasic bags full of patients records and there medical files. The bags were clear plastic and you could see in them very easaliy. Fox Files was trying to get the pharmacies to but paper shreders to destroy the papers. It is against the law to have them in the garbage like that. It destroys the patient confadielity law. Its not safe for people to have all their personal information out in the open like that.

S5:

Police have found smugged drugs in American Airline planes. It seems to the police that employees might have been involed with the smugging of the ilegal drugs. Police found a portion of the drugs in food trays. Police also will have more to say after the investgation of the airline.

S6:

When I first heard about the Clinton scandel I just thuoght it was a big joke and it would pass over time. Then every body kept talking about it and making alot of jokes. It made me mad about how he lied about for so long and waisted tax dollors for no reason except for the simple fact that did not want to own up to his mastakes.

S7:

As What has been heard on the news for the past couple of days is the earth quake in turkey. Over 12,000 people are dead, and it is expected for 40,000 people to be dead when it is all over. The main reasion for so many deaths is do to the fact that building quality in turkey is not that great. You would think that if a little more money was spent there wouldint be so many casulties. Its a shame that this had happend but it was a good size earth quake.

S8:

Yesterday I watched the news around 5:00 pm. I heard a woman talk about college starting for many students. She reported that a student named Bryan Murphy was killed by painting a box car with spray paint. Later I read an acticle about the incident in the Post Dispatch and learned he was going to be a student at SLU. I felt bad that he had gotten killed but I found it strange that he would be in such a dangerous area where a train could easily hit him. I alaso found it strange that he had friends there but they didn't know where he had gone. After I finished reading the article I felt sad for his familys loss.

S9:

I saw the Unabomber on the news the other day. They said that he wrote a threehunderd and sevendy two page dockuments on his life and all the crimes that he commeted, and told how he did it. He talked about how he avoided the F.B.I. for so long. I don't think the should have put it on-Line it will give to much knoleg on how to make bombs and how to exapte capture from the athoity. I think that they shoud have not put that on-line.

S10:

The most recent would have to be, the ASRA shootout which is a boat race that is held yearly on the Mississippi river where boats go to see who's the fatest and which boat is the fastest on the water. I go to this event yearly and also watch on the news to see the coverage that was taken. This year the fastest boat on the water was clocked at 128 mph. The same boat won last year.

S11:

The news I learned was there was a terrible hurricane in Texas. The hurricane was called Bret and it happened around Talfurrias,Texas. A tractor-trailer flew in the air and crashed into a pick-up truck killing three people. This was the only fatalities blamed on Bret. The only serious damage in town occurred at the El Cid motel where Bret ripped the roof off. Many people had been rescued and taken to shelters.

S12:

I think the homerun race is heating up. We got two men that like to hit the ball a mile in the sky. Mark Mcgwire could brake the record he set last year. Also we have a man named Sosa that easily could brake Mcgwire record. But I think that Big Mac will still be the Homerun King, and I don't think that Sosa has the focus the Big Mac has when he steps up to the plate. This has been a big story in the sport news sence last year and I think it has even got bigger because the same two men are doing it again

S13:

The big topic in the news wrold wide is the earthquack in Turkey. It could be the bigest naturl tragdy every. I fell sory for thoes people they cant do angthing,but sit there and wait for help. There is 30 thousdan people missing or killed in the earthquack. We cant do a hole lot to help them but send money over for there clean up. I think presdent went overy there and helped out. I wish we coild do more for them.

S14:

Today I turned on my televition and I now it the devistation the heartache on the peoples faces. Terkey had just had an earthquake. There was nothing I could do.Buildings,streets, homes unrecegnisable No longer anything, but rubble in the place were a building was. I can never understand what they must be going through,what they are feeling.If that was me ,wow, I could never imagine were to go from there. How to pick up the peices .Everything gone in five minutes. What would happen to my family much less myself.

S15:

This is the first ever report card of Missouri's teachers programs.   Maryville and Washington University rank in the top one hundred percent of the nations test requirements for a teaching license.

Missouri colleges have raised the entry level to 2.7 at Maryville, or 2.8 at Wash. U. which expels the myth that college students going for teacher certificates are not from the lower end of every class.  Robert E. Bartman (Missouri education commissioner) bealived "Missouri is the first to survey student teacher grades in this way."  Missouri is one of the first to let the public know exactly how their prospective teachers are doing.

President Clinton's ideas are already in place in Missouri.  We don't have life time certificates; we must test to keep our certificates.  All teachers will have to have portofolio of their work; most student in MO. already need this.

Teachers in training need more experiance the sooner the better.  Most teacher educators agree a test "can't tell you how a person is going to perform in a classroom of 25 students" by Kathe Rasch, dean of education of Maryville University.

S16:

I chose to talk about the earthquake in Turky.  It was a tradgic incident that killed a lot of people.  There are still people being found under rubige and pieces of buildings, just the other day a young boy was found after spending 146 hours in complete isoslation.  This earthquake affected me in the sence that any natural disaster is a tradity, and that St. Louis is on one of the biggest falt lines in the world, so it makes me a little  more aware.

Return to the Assignment Page