The Other Wes Moore Blog Post Three(Up to page 137)
Please respond to each of the questions below. Responses should be at least one paragraph. Number your responses so that it is clear which question you are answering.
1. Military school obviously benefited author Wes Moore. What did author Wes Moore go on to do after exiting military school? Do you think there were any other paths that could have set him on the straight and narrow?
1. Military school obviously benefited author Wes Moore. What did author Wes Moore go on to do after exiting military school? Do you think there were any other paths that could have set him on the straight and narrow?
2. Prisoner Wes Moore continued to proclaim innocence, saying he wasn’t there for the robbery. Do you think the author believed him? Did you believe him? Do you think he should have been sentenced to life in prison?
3. At one point, author Wes Moore asks prisoner Wes Moore, "Do you think we are all products of our environments?" How would you answer this question?
4. Prisoner Wes Moore says that we are either products of our environments or products of our expectations. Which is it? What about you? (Are you more a product of your environment or more a product of your expectations for yourself?)
5. What does education have to do with the path that each Wes Moore landed on (then continued on)?
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ReplyDelete1. After finishing military school and becoming a basketball star, the author Wes Moore went off to college because a lot of coaches were interested in him. I think that going to college was not too important for getting him to where he is today, but finishing military school certainly was. Military school taught him discipline. There was clearly not much discipline back home, which may be what led the prisoner Wes Moore into prison for the rest of his life.
ReplyDelete2. I’m not sure whether to believe the prisoner Wes Moore or not. He was convicted and has a criminal record, but as we have seen from To Kill A Mockingbird and the Scottsboro trials, young black men are often convicted for crimes that they haven’t committed. I think the author Wes Moore feels similarly. I doubt either of us has examined the evidence well enough to reach a conclusion. I don’t think that Wes should have gotten a life sentence, but I do believe that it was inevitable given the circumstances.
3. I would answer, “Yes”. I do think that we are products of our environments. A person’s environment not only includes the physical landscape, but the people around them and the culture of their childhood home. Deeply held beliefs hang on in a culture for many generations mainly because they are passed on to the children by the adults. I am fortunate to be growing up in a good environment, but many people aren’t so lucky.
4. I think that our expectations are products of our environments more than anything else, so being a product of your expectations also makes you a product of your environment. I am definitely a product of my environment. I grow up with two very intelligent parents, one of which has given me a love of math, science, and engineering.
5. Education had a big role on the futures of each Wes Moore. The big difference came when the author Wes Moore’s mother put herself under a lot of economic strain to put Wes into private school, and then military school. The prisoner Wes Moore wasn’t so lucky. His mom didn’t sacrifice much for Wes’s education, and Wes ended up dropping out of high school and then dealing drugs.
Comment #1,
DeleteTate,
One thing that particularly struck me is in Question #5 how you mentioned economic strain. This is one aspect that I think is often overlooked in this book. I know for me I mainly focused on education and the role it plays in their lives. The strain that is placed on these families was a very common factor in the world of the Bronx and Baltimore at this time in history. I think that is an essential part of the story. Another thing I really liked when I read your post was how you mentioned the amount of discipline Wes learned from military school. Discipline was kind of mixed up in his years, His mother had to worry about he and his two sisters. I also think not having a father when he was growing up affected the amount of discipline he received throughput his childhood. Military school reduced his egotistical characteristics and replaced them with respect and unselfishness. These three words, discipline, and economic strain are really what make this book so relatable to many people everywhere in the world. They put universal appeal to good use. Reading your responses made me realize why this book was a New York Times #1 Bestseller.
I also don't know who to believe either, I feel like if he truly was innocent that there would have been another trial, or they would maybe have it under review, but right now, it's a matter of his word against everyone else's. ---from Ryan Malloy
Delete1. Soon after author Wes Moore graduated from the military academy, he enrolled in the early college program at Valley Forge. After he graduated from his junior college he attended John Hopkins University where he would study international relations. The way that military school changed Wes was significant. I believe that without being sent away to school, Wes would’ve followed the path that many other young men followed in the Bronx. He would’ve been sucked into drugs and violence. The only other way that Wes’s life could’ve been set straight and narrow is jail. I do not think Wes would have committed to any other correction without being forced. Being enrolled in military school changed the outcome of his life and early years. He was set on the path to avoid the atrocities that occurred in cities by all the sacrifices his family made.
ReplyDelete2. I think that author Wes Moore wants to believe prisoner Wes Moore but he cannot bring himself to. In my case I find myself believing Wes Moore. After being in prison for such a extended period of time I think he would speak the truth because either way he can’t get out of jail. I think that prisoner Wes Moore has a good heart and made several poor decisions that stole his future from him. I admit he made some awful choices throughout his early adult years but sometimes you have to look at things from his perspective. He grew up without a responsible father figure in his life and his older brother being a drug lord in Baltimore. This is not an excuse to rob and hurt people but does have some terrible effects on one's life. I do think he deserved the life sentence but he deserved a chance to come clean and admit his wrong doings.
3. When author Wes Moore asks this question I think he is trying to ask whether the environment that a child grows up in can affect their future in life. I think this question exemplifies the common realization of the effects an early life experience can have on someone's life. Prisoner Wes Moore witnessed overdoses, shootings and robberies all throughout his childhood. I think that everyone is influenced by their environment. Prisoner Wes Moore would not be in his predicament right now if he had steady support from his family and a proper education in his early years.
4. I believe that everyone is a combination of others expectations of them and their own personal expectations for themselves. They assume their own expectations for themselves by choice. They can simply go along with the opinions other people make about them or you can follow your own path. I think that you have to consider other people's expectations for you and also have your own. You should listen to the most influential people in your life and take them the strongest to heart. You have to form reasonable expectations for yourself and you should listen to them as if they were your gut decisions.
5. Author Wes Moore started out going to you average high school and continued until his mother realized it was not the right place for him. She took it into her own hands to determine the best path for her son. She knew what was best for him and insisted he at least try military school. Soon he fell right in with all of the other cadets and rose through the ranks. He then attended junior college at Valley Forge and then attended John Hopkins University and Oxford University. He received a much greater education than prisoner Wes Moore. Prisoner Wes Moore attended the same type of regular high school that author Wes Moore first went to. He was not as lucky as author Wes Moore and was not removed. This resulted in him falling into the drug ring and thus dropping out of high school. I think the main difference that separates the lives of these two men is the basic education they received as children.
#1 After Military school Wes went to early college at Valley Forge, and then went to John Hopkins to study international relations. Military school, was the turning point in Wes’s life. He realized how important his education was to everyone in his life, because of all the sacrifices his family and friends made for him. I think that if he didn’t go to military school, his life would be more like prisoner Wes’s. Wes’s If he didn't go to military he would probably be in jail, dead, or on his way to both. I think that Wes’s understanding of life completely changed when he went to military school.
ReplyDelete#2 I don’t believe prisoner Wes that he wasn’t there at all, I think that he lied at first, and had to keep lying. I don’t think author Wes believes him either, he believes that maybe he didn’t kill him, and just robbed and shot at him. I think that maybe he should have had like 30 years in jail instead of life in jail, because I don’t believe he shot him.
#3 I think that environment everybody is raised in is a test of a character. If you are raised in a neighborhood where there is lots of drugs and gangs, and you are able to make it out, that shows how strong you are. If you are raised in neighborhood where everybody tries to protect you from all the drugs and gangs, but you still end up getting involved in them it shows that you didn’t try hard enough.
#4 I think I am a product of my environment and a product of my self expectations. I am a product of my self expectations, because my family has always talked about how they don’t care about my grades, as long as I'm trying my best, but I have always pushed myself to get good grades. I am a product of environment, because I don’t do drugs. Everyone around me has taught me how bad drugs are, so I don’t do them.
#5 Education helped author Wes see a completely different side of life. His mom, grandparents, other family members, and friends gave his mom as much money as possible, so he could go to military school. Military school showed him the importance of respecting, and listening to commands. I think that without military school Wes would be in a completely different place.
1. After having many college offers because of his athletic skills playing basketball, but not a definite career in that, Wes decided to pursue something else he was passionate about. After exiting military school, Wes Moore went on to attend Valley Forge’s Junior College to get his associates degree and become a second lieutenant in the army. Military school impacted who Wes is as a person, and definitely shaped him and made him more mature. I think that if Wes didn’t get shipped away to that school, he might have become a drug dealer and end up in prison himself.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the author doesn’t really believe prisoner Wes Moore when he says he’s innocent. I personally don’t believe Wes when he says he’s innocent because like the author pointed out, I agree that he might just be trying to push that event out of his mind, and that maybe if he said he’s innocent enough, it would come true. I think prisoner Wes Moore just has a lot of regret from that situation and doesn’t want to accept that he can’t turn back time and is now having to spend his whole life in prison. I don’t think he should have had a life sentence though, I think he should have had a longer maybe 20-30 year sentence, so the entire rest of his life didn’t have to be completely wasted because of his mistake.
3. I do think that we are all products of our environments. Where we’re raised and where we grow up influences who we become as a person. The environment you’re surrounded by is where you learn what the people around you perceive right and wrong as, and so you take that in and apply that to your own life. Of course you can grow and change from what you’re taught, but the environment where you were raised are your roots, and they definitely have an impact on how your life turns out.
4. I think that I am both a product of my environment and my expectations for myself. As for my environment, my parents always tell me to work as hard as I can and try my best because that’s all that matters, and I definitely try to follow that when it comes to school, because I trust what they say. As for my expectations for myself, I try to keep them reasonable but also push myself to do my best and be as successful as I can.
5. The author Wes Moore was a lot more fortunate when it came to education. He attended private school, and his family made lots of sacrifices so he could go to military school. At military school he learned all the necessary skills to become mature and independent. After military school, he goes on to be successful at college as well. Prisoner Wes Moore went to public school surrounded by drugs, and wasn’t removed from that environment. He dropped out and started dealing drugs because he didn’t have the same opportunities author Wes Moore had.
Regarding #4: One could argue that one’s expectations and aspirations are a product of their environment; we are all ultimately products of our environment. My aspiration is to go into robotic engineering. This is greatly influenced by my father’s job as an electric engineer. People often aspire to be like their role models. These role models can be said to be a part of their environment. The prisoner Wes’s biggest role model was Tony, and Wes turned out to follow a path quite similar to Tony’s. Meanwhile the author Wes had role models at Valley Forge that taught him discipline and respect and he ended up graduating college and living a productive and successful life. Do you agree that most of us, if not all, try to be like our role models?
Delete1. I think that the Military school was the biggest thing that set him on a straight path. After leaving Military School, he started focusing predominantly on basketball. I think that although basketball may have been good for him, Military school was the best. It taught him how to be respectful and how to not tolerate bad behavior which he definitely seemed to start participating in before he went.
ReplyDelete2. I think that the sentence that Wes was given is better than the death sentence. I also think that they should have had a longer trial to let him prove his innocence better. While he did get sent to jail for life and is saying he is innocent. Obviously, his lawyer didn’t do a good enough job if he truly is.
3. I think that your environment does affect who you become. Take both Moores for example, they both grew up poor and less fortunate. At this point, they seem to be heading on the same path. Once Author Wes goes to Military School we see a significant change in his life. He has grown more mature and respectful. While Prisoner Wes is still living his life in the drug business and ends up getting a criminal record and going to jail, while author Wes Moore begins to live a good life and write a bestselling book.
4. I think you are more of a product of your environment than expectations. Living on Nantucket was a rough part of my life and I am grateful that I got that experience. I was able to experience most of the things both Moores experienced. I am a mentally stronger person because I lived on Nantucket and got to experience what they both experienced. I also am a stronger person because I moved here to Thetford and am getting a good education.
5. I think that education plays a big part in both lives of the Moore’s. Prisoner Wes Moore’s education was poor and short because he dropped out early on to stick with drugs and his life. Author Wes Moore’s education was good after he went to Military school. The Military School really bent author Wes Moore in and he became a more disciplined person.
I agree with you on what you said on question 4, but I am really curious what it was that you experienced on Nantucket, and I also was wondering if what happened help to shape you to who you are today.
Delete1)
ReplyDeleteAuthor Wes Moore went to college as a basketball star. Colleges gave him scholarships for his skills, but I think his first few years of college wasn’t as helpful as the last few. Military school was where he first grew up with strict discipline and he became a better person because of it.
2)
Picking a side is hard to do. Prisoner Wes Moore has a criminal record and has been to prison before. I don't think he should've gotten a life sentence. He has gone through his own issues with the law and as this is one of them, I don't know who to believe.
3)
Well I could explain it the same way as prisoner Wes Moore. The world that we live in shapes us. It builds our characteristics, what we like and what we don't, why we act the way we do, why we say what we say. These things are shaped by our point of views on the world and how society teaches us to act. We are products of our environments. The people we talk to and are surrounded by create different ideas on how to act.
4)
I would have to answer with a mix of both. Our expectations have an aspect and so does our environment, they both affect lots of things. They are both shaped by the world to create all these individual products each having some of their own. I feel like I would be a mix of both because both represent me in their own way.
5)
Education has a big part on life. If you have no education you can't do things everyone else can, if you get a poor education you're not as likely to succeed like the people with a better education. Prisoner Wes Moore went to a school that has pretty decent education and he has that. Author Wes Moore went to private school and to military school which showed him discipline and strength. He went to colleges and became a writer, the other Wes Moore went to prison. Education will always have a factor on how we turn out.
Jen
1: After military school author Wes Moore continued a career in the military. He became a lieutenant at the age 18, making him one of the youngest lieutenants in the nation. This was accomplished by going to Vally Forge's Junior College. I think other paths such as basketball or returning back to the Bronx would not have kept him on such a straight and true path. In the military he was able to stay away from drugs and other harmful substances. He was also kept in an area where he was respected and responsible.
ReplyDelete2: I don't think author Wes Moore believed prisoner Wes' innocence for even one minute. I don't think many people would believe him which may be why he is in prison. The reason I think he repeatedly says that he is innocent is because he does not believe that he is innocent him self. I think that life in prison was a reasonable sentence because this was not Wes' first time in prison, and if he got out probably would not be he last.
3: I think in a way, we are products of our environment. I think that we are shaped and molded by the world we are presented with and the opportunities we are presented with. For example if someone is born on the streets, homeless, has no money and no opportunities they are more likely to steal or kill someone than someone who was born into a wealthy family and has opportunities presented to them on a silver platter.
4: People and their expectations are products of their environment. Someone could have super strict parents who expect nothing less than A's from their kids, this would shape the kids expectation of themselves. This is equally true with the opposite. If a parent does not care about grades or how they do in school the child will most likely not care as much and in turn put less effort into their school work.
5: Author Wes Moore ended on a better path than Prisoner Wes Moore because of the different levels of sacrifice their mothers took to determine their education levels. Author Wes' mom worked several jobs and took out a ton of loans to send him to military school and his siblings to private schools where they could get the best education possible. This worked out well for Wes because he was set on the right path and stayed out of trouble. On the other end of the spectrum prisoner Wes' mother although she put in plenty of effort to have their own house and keep the lights on, etc. she did not make Wes pursue anything other than a public school education. This clearly did not work out well because Wes was exposed to drugs and eventually dropped out of high school. The different levels of education seem to change what kind of path a person follows, bad or good.
Comment #2
DeleteKiran,
The response you wrote to question five was definitely my favorite. I really appreciated how you mentioned the fact about the Wes Moore's mothers. I agree with the fact that the mother played the largest role in the paths that these two men chose to follow in life. Author Wes Moore's mother sacrificed her free time to give him and his sisters the proper upbringing required to keep them out of street troubles. I also loved your transition between the two different mothers I like how you used the word spectrum. I feel like spectrum shows how many mothers handle their children differently and thus fall on different parts of the spectrum. Author Wes Moore's mother pushed him to attend military school and despite him being unwilling, cleaned up his life and formed a better life for him. The perfect mother is not one who allows everything, but rather sometimes forces her children to the absolute best in her eyes not theirs. Prisoner Wes Moore's mother tried to keep him out of the street but did not push him to a better education or future life path. I also like how you talked about the varying education levels the two boys had, because that also played a massive role in their future. I liked how specific you were and the words you used.