Letter of Concern

418 Valiant Drive, Penticton, British Columbia,
V2A 8Y1

May 25, 2011

Mr.Kleats,
Soccer Coach,
Central High School,
123 Main Street,
Sportstown, British Columbia,
V2A 1W3


Dear Mr. Kleats:


My name is Con Cerned. I am the father of Bor-Ed Cerned one of the player on the local house team in which you coach. I have noticed some concerns that I would like to bring up about the way you are coaching your team.

I have noticed that majority of the time you show up late to the practices and the occasional game. I understand that you are putting aside your free time to coach these young boys during your rigorous schedule but these boys are too young and they aren't able to organize their own practice. Along with that it seems to me that their practices are unorganized for the most part and that they aren't getting the most of their two hour practice. There seems to be to much standing around. May I suggest planning out the practice a head of time or maybe finding an assistant coach to help you out. Another point I wish to bring up is the uneven playing time. It has come to my attention that my son doesn't receive as much playing time as he deserves. Considering that this is only house league and that all the parents are paying equally for their children to play it only seems fair that the boys share the playing time with equal shifts. This coincides with your greater emphasizes on winning then having fun. After talking to a few parents they agree that the boys are just wanting to play and have fun and that winning isn't what most of them want. Winning does help the boys to have more fun but it comes at the cost of some of the boys having to sit. My final concern is that I have often heard you yelling at my son and some of the other boys and I would really appreciate it if you could speak with a softer tone when explaining what you want of my son. He has come home in tears after practice a few times and it hurts me to hear him say that it was because of your anger towards him. So if you could please think about using a nicer tone of voice I would appreciate it very much. Thank you for taking the time to coach and I hope that you will consider what I have said.

Sincerely,



Con Cerned

The Most Useful Subject in Life

I know that when I woke up every morning and begin my daily preparations for high school only one thing crossed my mind: math class. Math class was the most important time of the day and my favourite. Everything important in life is to be learnt in math; it is all relevant to everyday activities. Without math the world would be lost in a numberless spinning vortex of terror and destruction

Without the knowledge of logarithms I would have never made it through university English and history. Many times the professor would display a PowerPoint and I would use logs to help work out the notes. Logs have also supported me through all the court cases I have won and lost. Looking at the witness I would use logarithms to find if they were telling the truth by rating them on a log base ten scale. I remember sitting in math class saying "Now this is something I will use." Who doesn't recall the time in math when the teacher would get asked the question "How can I not use this in life?" Plus, there are still quadratic equations. I use those all the time, especially when I am driving. "Well the red car is 'Y', the yellow cab is 'Z' and I am 'X' then solve for the outcome." I have never had a car crash because of these well used formulas. Math is a life savor.

Not many days go by that I don't use trigonometry. Angles are very important and could be detrimental to your health if they are left unsolved. For instance, when I am separating my beans from my rice I use "Sine" over "Cos". I cannot have my beans at certain angles to my rice or touching at all. Running parallel to Trigonometry is geometry. I always make sure that I have graph paper in case of emergencies. It has saved me a couple times when I have been doing my daily crossword puzzle. 


High school teachings of mathematics will go along way because math is like a staple, it is needed all the time. See without math I am sure that I wouldn't have been able to survive law school with all of its essays and laws. Math is the most useful course in high school.

Bridge over Troubled Water

A song that impacted the world is "Bridge over Troubled Water" by Simon and Garfunkel. It has influenced many people through its smooth and mellifluous lyrics. The symbolism of the "bridge over troubled water" depicts the separation of God and humanity. The bridge represents the connection to God and the troubled water is the sin and wrong in the world. Many people believe that this connection of the bridge is offering a relationship with God. Along with the relationship with God, Simon and Garfunkel also portrays a man's loves for another human just like God loves mankind as a whole. To help get their point across the use parallelism in the lines "When you're down and out / When you're on the street/ When evening falls so hard" adds a greater  affect and power to these lyrics. Repetition of certain lines "like a bridge over troubled waters" and "I will ease your mind" create a greater impact on the listener and his feelings towards the song. Simon and Garfunkel demonstrate poetic devices throughout their song to carry there meaning of God's love for mankind in times of need.


When you're weary 
Feeling small 
When tears are in your eyes 
I will dry them all 

I'm on your side 
When times get rough 
And friends just can't be found 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will lay me down 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will lay me down 

When you're down and out 
When you're on the street 
When evening falls so hard 
I will comfort you 

I'll take your part 
When darkness comes 
And pain is all around 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will lay me down 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will lay me down 

Sail on Silver Girl, 
Sail on by 
Your time has come to shine 
All your dreams are on their way 

See how they shine 
If you need a friend 
I'm sailing right behind 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will ease your mind 
Like a bridge over troubled water 
I will ease your mind

Warden

     Billy and Morgan slipped into the wonderful shade along the prison wall.
     "Hey Billy, I just heard the guard say that the warden is coming out to the yard," whispered Morgan.
     "No!"
     "Hey keep it down. We aren't supposed to know," He wipes his brow with his hand as the intense Arizona sun sears into his flesh.
     "Sorry, its just that last time the warden signaled me out and made me look like an incompetent fool."
     "Damn it's hotter then wearing panda fir in the middle of the Sahara."
     "Didn't you hear what I said you old deaf sonofabitch. The warden loathes me and is going to make my life...
     "Ssssshhhhh, it's here." All the prisoners turn to the ominous figure proceeding from the iron gates. The lean body of the warden enters the yard. Her long brown hair swaying at every step and her piercing eyes search out for her unlucky victim. Billy whimpers as he feverishly trys to camouflage himself into the shadows of the stone prison wall.
     "You there, come here," the warden exclaims to Billy. Billy curses under his breath.
     "Yes Ma'am."
     "What is your name?"
     "William Mater, Ma'am."
     "Come with me you disgusting scum bag." Billy slowly trudges behind the warden as they leave the yard. The iron gates shut behind them with a loud,"Clang!"

     Morgan didn't move the rest of the day. He remained there waiting for his only compatriot to reappear but he never did...


    

The Jungle

        A young boy wanders the halls of Princess Margaret Secondary School in Penticton BC. Suddenly a cloister of students exit a nearby classroom followed by more. Eventually the halls are filled with mostly caucasian students with few East Indians in the mix. The lone boy gets swooped up in the jostling of books and peers as he is lost in the jungle of the hallway. After what seems like mere seconds to some students and hours for others the halls are vacant. The adolescent boy lies on the cold cement floor, his books splayed everywhere along with his pride and self worth. In those few minutes of switching classes this innocent boy was the victim of a bully.

        To this day bullying is a real and ever present problem. Most students are unaware of the situations that take place. This malevolent problem has reached out with its extraneously long bony fingers and has grasped a high school in Penticton and this young grade 9 boy is the first of many victims.

         When asked about his life at school the student responded quickly spurting out "normal and fine" as he rushed on to class. It almost seems that he is in a state of denial or he is scared that his predators my punish him for explaining the truth. Again the student was asked but this time if he was being bullied, the response was shocking "I am not being bullied I just have some friends that like to have fun once in a while." This reply depicts his attackers as his friends. The boy is showing signs of a paradoxical psychological phenomenon or other wise known as Stockholm syndrome because he is sticking up for his attackers and  announcing them as his friends when he is really the martyr to their maliciousness.

        This quandary explains how powerful and daunting bullying can be and become. Bullying can capture someone in a convoluted deluge of terror and confusion. Princess Margaret is inauspiciously unaware of the shadow that coats the school in a mystical obscurity that feeds on the fear of students.

The Prodigy

I am the prodigy, the most protective, prevailing, powerful, professional producer, performing pediatrics while peddling in a pavilion with my prestigious pedometer while writing the most profound story ever.

I believe that something cannot come from nothing. Someone famous once told me that I would succeed above all others, while he stood on Mount Sinai holding the laws. Inventing the spaceship was done by me. Inventing speech wasn't my greatest accomplishment, but inventing the thought of inventing was. I created fire.

When people ask me "what superpower would you want?"
I reply, "I already have them all."

My flag is on the moon. My flag is on Mars. My flag is on Everest, The Eiffel Tower, The Great Wall and my house. I get up every morning. I once fought the malicious Persian army while creating an unrivaled sculpture of Lincoln and learning Latin. I died once but only for a couple days. I am the leader of all the rebellions around the globe, but I am also the one who puts them to rest. My mind is overwhelmed with the fact that I use 100% brain power. Even Albert Einstein looked up to me. Even Napoleon Bonaparte looked up to me. He was very short. I had the audacity to disagree with Hitler as he conspired against the Jews.

Names and labels belittle what I am. I was never awarded the majestic Nobel Peace Prize because I fashioned it. I never complain. My mother said "I was the perfect baby". I like to take bubble baths in volcanoes. James Cameron stole my ideas. King Arthur knighted me with Excalibur. Broadway became famous due to my outstanding acting talents. During the Cold war I had a cold. I can generate enough energy that I can fuel the sun. The great prophets were my students. Alexander the Great was my brother and Hatsheput my sister. I wrote the dictionary and Bill Gates learnt from me. Greek mythology was my childhood. When I sneeze someone says bless you. I inspired Martin Luther King Jr's speech. I went to the end of the universe once and then kept going. Exploration and discovery are what I do best. I once knew how to cure cancer, solve pollution and world hunger, I forgot. I have loved.

All the Roman Emperors were me dressed-up. All the unknown natives are kept concealed by me. Today I founded a new religion. I am the Babe Ruth of baseball, the Pele of soccer, the Michael Jordan of basketball, the Tiger Woods of golf, the Gretzky of hockey, the Gandhi of pacifism but I am only now applying for University.

The Place of Kings

It's cold, damp and dark for many long hours. Everyone else around me feels the same. A wonderful sound of keys jingling reaches our ears. We all wait with great anticipation. The big doors groan and light floods into our eyes. A shadow blocks the light momentarily, then moves and the light reaches us once more. I can hear the others all whisper to who will get selected today. A giant hand reaches towards me. It picks me up and squeezes. Pain discharges through my body. Even through the pain I am exuberant that I have been selected. My joy is shattered when I am placed back with the others. I become full of rage and jealousy towards the lucky one. The student walks away and my chances of being used have been crushed, but wait I have another chance. The adolescent searches through the bin looking for the perfect one. This time it will be me. I swell myself up and move to the centre of the bin. The searching hands find me and I am lifted from my not so eternal captor. The darkness falls behind as the light bounces off me. My mind depicts the wondrous cascade of colours as I enter the place of kings. I suddenly feel weightless as I am expelled from my holder. I feel confusion as to why I am being discarded but then something erupts into my face. I absorb it and then it sends me back up into the waiting hands of my saviour. For the next hour I am over joyed as I am bounced, hit, passed and even served back and forth throughout the gym. I am unknown to the fear and sadness that surrounds my player because this is his last time in the gym, but for me this is the apex of my life. It seems to last for only mere seconds because a sound interrupts my thoughts. My user sighs and turns towards my prison. I hear each step fall as I am brought back to hell. My time in the hands of this amazing creature is at an end. I feel the air pass beside me as I fly through it. I land back in the bin with the others. The massive doors swing closed and we are all sent back into the blackness. The lock clicks shut and the fall of foot steps gets farther away. Now all I can do is wait, and wait till the gateway is opened once again.