Investigative Journalism

“Police brutality in the United States”
By Jose Carreto

    Police brutality is the use of unnecessary force by police when dealing with civilians mostly dealing with African-Americans. “Excessive use of force” means a force well beyond what would be necessary in order to handle a situation. Police brutality can be used in different ways. The most obvious form of police brutality is a physical form like hitting. Police officers can use nerve gas, batons, pepper spray, and guns in order to intimidate or even hurt civilians. Police officers can also do false arrests, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, and the improper use of tasers.

           Police brutality in America is getting worse not better. In 2015 at least 865 Americans have been killed by the police. The problem is complicated, and deeply unlikely to change. No single policy will curb this trend and it is very possible these numbers may get worse for many years to come without drastic changes, including real consequences for police brutality. The vast majority of people about 95 percent or more are killed by the police without it being filmed. This is a major issue in the United States and we have to work together to stop this issue.


    The year 2015 was marked by countless high profile incidents of police brutality against minors. Samuel Dubose in Ohio, Freddie Gray in Baltimore, and Walter Scott in South Carolina, to name a few. In May the Washington Post analyzed the 385 fatal police shootings in the United States that had occurred so far in 2015. The Washington Post noted its number, which came out to two officer shooting deaths per day. That was more than twice the rate that the government had recorded over the past decade. The youngest victims at the end of may according to the Washington Post were 16 years old

Gratitude Blog

November 22, 2016
    This year I’m grateful for being alive and healthy. I am grateful for that because there's a lot of people that die everyday from murder, suicide etc… I am also grateful for being healthy because a lot of people are very sick because they are not healthy. People get very sick by not taking care of their body like if people don’t watch what they eat they can get diabetes. Also people die for not being healthy like Cancer A.L.S. That is why I’m really grateful for being alive or not dead and being healthy and not having any diseases.

I’m grateful that I’m able to spend time with my family on Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for that because I rarely spend time with family on holidays like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Years. Also I am grateful to spend time with my family because there is a lot of kids and adults who can't spend time with their family on thanksgiving so that's why I am grateful.

Nonfiction Blog

December 1, 2016

The book I’m currently reading is called “The Bob Love story” and it’s about how a former basketball player name Bob Love who played for the Chicago Bulls escapes poverty when he had got a very serious injury that forced him to retire. It also talks about how he in one of few Bulls players to have their numbers retired by the team. The book also talks about how Bob Love struggle to put his life back together after his serious injury.

One thing I found interesting in the book that I am reading is how Bob Love is one of three Bulls players to have their numbers retired. Also His number 10 jersey hangs from the rafters of Chicago’s United Center as a tribute to his great plays on the court. This is interesting to me because it’s crazy to have your own jersey hang from the rafters and have people look at it everyday and this basically makes him one of the best Bulls player to live.

One thing that I learned from this book so far is how good Bob Love was when he played basketball. I say this because in the book Jerry Sloan (basketball player) says that Bob Love was one of the best players he ever played with. This means a lot because Jerry Sloan also has his jersey hanging from the rafters so he would know if a player is good or not because he has experience. Even Michael Jordan as a teen would watch Bob Love play basketball and Jordan said he loved watching him play and, he would inspire him.

I commented on http://dena1003.blogspot.com
I commented on  Gabe's blog
I commented on Isaiah's blog

Election Reflection

November 9th, 2016
    My thoughts on the election was kind bad. The reason why my thoughts are bad is because it ended up being Donald Trump winning instead of Hilary Clinton. I think Donald Trump would be a bad president of the things he did. He is also the first to be president that doesn't have Military and government background. While I think Hilary Clinton should have won because she was the 67th United States Secretary of State. Also she was the First Lady so therefore that would give her more background about the presidency and the election and be more experienced than Donald Trump, that was my thoughts on the election.

I would like to be involved in politics because in the next election I would be able to vote. This is important because in the next election when I'm able to vote I have to be informed about the latest news on politics. I would also like to be involved with politics because it looks and, sounds interesting to learn more about. Also it would be interesting to learn about who is in the House of Representatives and in The Senate.

I think the main issue of the whole election is Donald Trump winning because he would be bad as president. Here is some examples why Donald Trump was the main issue, Trump would be the first president that doesn't have military and government background. That is bad because the president needs to know about the military and how it works because the president is the Chief of the military. Also he doesn't have government background and that is very important for the president because if you don't know a lot about the government how are you supposed to know about the laws and how to veto a law. That's why I think Donald Trump winning was the main issue of the whole election

Investigative Journalism Blog

THE CUBS CLOSE OUT THE LOS ANGELES DODGERS TO GO TO THE WORLD SERIES FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 71 YEARS!

October 25, 2016

     On October 22, at 7:08 2016 the Chicago Cubs beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 in Wrigley Field Chicago Illinois. This game decided which team goes to the World Series and, this will be the first time in 71 years the Chicago Cubs are going to the World Series. Also the last time the Cubs won the World Series was in 1908. The Cubs will be facing the Cleveland Indians in a match that both teams haven't won a championship game in decades and decades and, the last time the Indians won a championship game was in 1948.

1st Quarter Reflection Blog

October 27, 2016

In my 10 Book Challenge I think I am doing pretty decent. I think i’m doing decent is because so far I read four books. The books I read so far is A Long Way Gone, The Giver, Summer Ball, and Heat. I think that is decent because if I start reading two books every month, I can finish the 10 book challenge in about three and a half months. The book I am reading now is Called “Million Dollar Throw” by Mike Lupica. The book is about this kid name Nate Brodie he has gotten the chance of a lifetime. He has won a chance to throw a football through a target at a New England patriots game on live TV. If he completes the pass he will win a million dollars and, his parents are struggling to pay the bills, even to keep their home, so this makes Nate even more nervous so the pressure is on for him. After I finish this book it would take me about three and a half months to finish the challenge.

Since August my blogs have been progressing pretty decent. I think that my blogs progressed pretty decent is because, I looked for my grades in Schoology and I saw in blogs and I got 69.44% I don't know if that’s good but I think it’s pretty decent. But I think I progressed a lot since August because I remember that I did kinda bad. I wouldn't capitalized proper nouns I wouldn't write in complete sentences. But now I learned better on run on sentences and use proper nouns. That’s why I think that my blogs progressed since August.

Some of my goals for the next three quarters for ELA is to be better in my roots/prefixes, spelling and have better grades in ElA. I chose those two goals because that is was I usually mess up and if I focus on them I can fix my mistakes and learn from them. The first goal is to be better in roots/ prefixes and spelling. To be better in roots/prefixes is that I can choose a word and practice that word every week and do it again until I get correct. My second goal is to have better grades in ELA. To do that I need to do good on my test and to do good on my test I also have to study. Also to have better grades in ELA I have to turn in complete assignments and do my homework.

The Giver Blog

October 17, 2016
The event I choose from the novel The Giver to compare to the movie is the ending. In the ending of the novel Jonas said that he saw red yellow and blue lights. But in the movie he didn't see lights he saw a cabin and, in the novel Jonas didn't see a cabin. Also in the movie when he reached the boundary of memories the movie shows the characters getting the memories. But in the novel Jonas didn't really see anything, the novel just said that he saw red yellow and blue lights, music, and runners going through the snow, the novel didn't say if Jonas saw the cabin or if he the memories got to the people of the community. The only thing that the novel and  the movie had in common was when Jonas said “But perhaps it was only an echo” (180) Jonas also said that in the movie. Therefore the novel The Giver and the movie are different.

I think the director choice was ok on choosing Brenton Thwaites to play Jonas. I think that because Brenton Thwaites looked a little bit older than the Jonas in the novel. Jonas in the novel was 11, But in the movie Jonas looked like he was 15 or 16. While reading the book I imagined Jonas having pale eyes about 5,1 or 5,2 and have short hair. But when I saw the movie Jonas looked a lot different. The actor I would've choose would be this guy name Asa Butterfield. He would be a good fit for Jonas because he looks young he has pale eyes like Jonas in the novel. That is why I would choose Asa Butterfield to play Jonas.

The novel The Giver most impacted my understanding than the movie. The novel helped me understand more because when we were reading the novel we had to do the sign post and prediction. That help me understand the book because it makes you stop at every page and go over what happened so far. Also the novel is the original and the movie is a remake so if you watch the movie you wouldn't understand as much if you watched the movie. What also helped me understand better is that I had to write a summary every chapter. That helped me because when I write summary I have to go back and remember main things on what happened every chapter.

The Giver Assesment

October 14, 2016
In The Giver Jonas is a dynamic character throughout the book. He is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the book Jonas started of selfish than toward the end he began to be unselfish. In the beginning of the book it says “A mistake. She made a mistake but Jonas knew even as he had the tonight that she hadn't The Chief Elder makes no mistakes.” (57) this shows that he is selfish because before the ceremony he didn't really care about anyone, he only cared about getting what will his job be. This also shows he is selfish because when they skipped his number he was mad and nervous because he didn't get picked. Towards the end of the book it says “He killed it my father killed it Jonas said to himself stunned at what he was realizing. He continued to stare the screen numbly” (150) this shows that Jonas is unselfish because after he saw his father kill the newborn. Jonas wanted to change the community and change the rules because he thought that they were bad mean and, that is showing how Jonas cares for the people in his community.

The theme looking into the past creates wisdom is connected to The Giver. They are connected because without looking into the past there would be no wisdom in anything. In the book it says  “It's called snow Gabe, Jonas whispered snowflakes they fall down from the sky and they’re very beautiful.” (176) This shows how looking into the past creates wisdom because Jonas already experienced the snow from the memories he got from The Giver. So he is telling Gabriel so he can get wisdom. It also says in the book that “He forced the memory of warmth into the thin, shivering body in his arms.” (177) This shows how looking into the past creates wisdom because Gabriel and Jonas were so cold that they couldn't take it anymore so Jonas gave the memory of warmth to Gabriel so he get the wisdom and, so he can feel a little bit warmer.

The Giver Blog

While reading The Giver by Lois Lowry there have been a lot contrasts and contradiction shared by Jonas one example is that Lily' first noticed that Gabriel had 'Funny' eyes like Jonas. Then Jonas went to look and he said "Almost everybody in the community had dark eyes" pg 20 Why is the character doing that. He is doing that because it shows how mostly all the people in the community are the same. It is also important because Gabriel has pale eyes than most people in the community, so that makes him special and different than the people in the community. Jonas also has pale eyes so this probably connects to the conflict because since mostly everyone in the community has darker eyes and Jonas and Gabriel has pale eyes it would make them different.


While reading The Giver by Lois Lowry there has been many memory moment by the main character Jonas. One example is the when he remembered his father was bathing the child in chapter 4 Jonas was at the house of old with Asher and Fiona, then Jonas was about to bathed the old then he remembered "Last night he had watched as his father bathed the new child." (Pg 30) this memory moment is important because for children, and adults it's a rule were they can't look at other another's nakedness but the rule also didn't apply for the old and the new children. This connects to the conflict because it's a rule it also sounds like a serious rule so you can get in trouble by the community or maybe even released.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi welcome to my blog! My name is Jose I am 14 years old. I like to play sports such as basketball, football, and soccer. But my favorite sport is football, my favorite food is pizza, and I am a 8th grader that goes to Heritage Middle School. Thanks for reading my blog see y'all next time.