A new museum is being opened, and it is solely dedicated to heroes who have shaped our world. Your task is to nominate one hero to be represented in this museum. Please answer the following questions in the direct order given and then nominate your hero. Your hero should reflect your answers to these questions. Please do not copy from another; I can tell.
1. What does it take to be a hero for you?
2. What are your qualifications to be a hero? This answer should support question one.
3. Are heroes born or made? Defend your answer.
4. Who is your hero that belongs in this museum?
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving! (Sixth graders will be on holiday the week of November 19. Please check back the following week for new posts!)
All of us have heard about certain individuals who have become heroes when they were least expecting to. This may account for the fact that heroes are not born but rather made by circumstances.
What is your definition of a hero?
Describe the characteristics of a hero.
Cite a specific incident or circumstance where you believe someone acted heroically.
Please be specific and detailed in your response. I want to know why you chose the particular person that you did and why. What did this person do that led you to say, “he/she is a hero.” I am not looking for you to tell me about family members whom you look up to. Think beyond. Think about past and present history/news.
You all the know the story of Anne Frank. Anne and her family and friends were able to survive in the secret annex for such a long period of time only because they were aided by Miep Gies and others who were willing to risk their own lives in order to help the Frank family. When interviewed after the war, Miep said, “We did what we could. We were not heroes. We were ordinary people.” Can you give examples of ordinary people who have given selflessly of themselves for another?
Many of you are getting confused between a role model or idol, leader, and a hero. A hero is an ordinary person who does something extraordinary for someone else, without little care to the danger of his own life or any fanfare. Remember the Virginia Tech tragedy? Would you consider the elderly professor, (who happened to be a Holocaust survivor) who died after shielding his students with his body a hero? I would. Think along these lines.
Please do not use any of the people in the video as your hero. They are just examples to get you thinking.
There are many kinds of heroes. It is difficult to predict how an individual might react in a situation where risking one’s life may save another’s.
Randy is very curious about Ponyboy’s display of heroism when he saved the children from the burning church. He doesn’t believe he would have done the same thing.
“I read about you in the paper,” Randy said finally. ‘How come?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I felt like playing hero.”
“I wouldn’t have. I would have let those kids burn to death.”
“You might not have. You might have done the same thing.”
“Randy pulled out a cigarette and pressed in the car lighter. “I don’t know. I don’t know anything anymore. I would never have believed a greaser could pull something like that.”
” ‘Greaser’ didn’t have anything to do with it. My buddy over there wouldn’t have done it. Maybe you would have done the same thing, maybe a friend of yours wouldn’t have. It’s the individual.” (Hinton, 115)
Please answer the following questions:
What does Ponyboy mean when he says, “it’s the individual?”
What is your definition of a hero? By your definition, are you heroic? Whom do you consider to be a hero and why? Have you done anything that you would consider a heroic deed? Explain fully. As always, I am looking for responses that show depth and clarity of thought. After Wednesday, you may post any blog prompts of your own in regards to this discussion, and you may certainly reply to Annie’s now.
