Teen Ink Hero Essay
Teen Ink Hero Essay
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself.“
Joseph Campbell
“A hero is someone who understands the responsibility that comes with his freedom.”
Bob Dylan
“A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
Christopher Reeve
Writing Situation: Heroes are around us everywhere we look. On teenink.com, the hero essay is a popular genre for teens to write about. You are welcome to write about Mandela as either your hero or a hero. (Even if Mandela is not your hero, it would be hard to argue that he is not one.) However, heroes canalso be athletes, family members, teachers, doctors, coaches, parents, activists, etc. If you don’t have a hero or have enough information, you must write about and argue that Mandela is a hero. The key to doing well here is seeing the hero’s journey. Start with your hero’s childhood and work your way chronologically into adulthood, ending with his or her legacy.
Writing Directions: Write an essay about your hero or somebody you know who has acted heroically throughout their life. You should define what you think a hero is and then argue how the person you’ve chosen is your hero or is a hero. You must use the character traits we brainstormed throughout the unit and connect them to parts of you hero’s life.
Features of a Teen Ink Hero Essay:
Attention Grabber or Lead
Definition of Hero
Thesis or Argument
Attributes or Characteristics of Heroism
Intro, Body, Conclusion
Topic Sentences
Examples: personal and text based
Nelson Mandela: A Light In the Darkness
By GraceH, Hillsborough, CA
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Photo credit: Luke S., Montclair, NJ
“My message to those of you involved in this battle of brother against brother is this: take your guns, your knives, and your pangas, and throw them into the sea. Close down the death factories. End this war now!” After Nelson Mandela uttered these powerful words, the people of South Africa dropped their weapons and continued to listen to this leader and man of hope. The oppressed South Africans had been waiting restlessly for his release, in order to pursue, using means of nonviolence, racial equality. Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1993, broke racial barriers, brought peace, and achieved his dream of equality for all South Africans – an incredible act of humanity.
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela first came face-to-face with black and white divisions in Johannesburg, South Africa.
In the 1948 presidential election, Daniel F. Malan, head of the white, Afrikaner-dominated National Party, imposed rigorous policies of apartheid, or legalized racial segregation on “colored” South Africans. Blacks had limited rights, unable to speak for themselves. At times, the oppressed wanted to retaliate violently, leading to harsher restrictions and punishments. Having felt uneasy about beatings and cruel penalties, Mandela developed a strong passion to fight for South Africans’ racial equality. He joined the African National Congress, an anti-apartheid political party which aimed to create a democratic government and led mass strikes, peaceful protests, controlled boycotts, and demonstrations with groups of young nationalists. Nelson Mandela was soon became the face of the ANC.
At this point, the South African government averted its attention to him, certainly someone whom it could not disregard. The National Party closely watched his every move, restricting him from attending meetings and from leaving Johannesburg. Detesting policies of apartheid, Nelson Mandela, with a vision to change South Africa, followed through with his actions without hesitation.
Mandela became not only a political icon but also a moral leader who initiated nonviolent forms of resistance. However, the government outlawed the African National Congress, and, on December 5, 1956, the South African police arrested Nelson and one-hundred fifty other activists, charging them for capital crimes of sabotage, treason, and conspiracies to overthrow the current government. He stated, during the trial, “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Sentenced to prison, Mandela was prepared to die for equality.
Even in prison, Nelson Mandela worked laboriously and received the least amount of food and privileges, because policies segregated prisoners by race. He stayed, locked for interminable hours, in a five by seven feet cell. Treated horrendously, as if an animal, Mandela continued to think and plan about how to change policies in South Africa. The people did not forget Mandela; instead, they continued to look to him as their symbolic leader to end apartheid.
Twenty- seven years later in 1990, F.W. de Klerk, President of South Africa, released Nelson Mandela. The nation had waited for this day. Nelson delivered speeches compelling South Africans to drop their weapons, and everyone listened to this powerful and true leader, for no other person had suffered longer than he had. People called him “Madiba,” an honorary title for elders in his original tribe. The years of hardships made him physically and mentally strong, understanding, and wise. The return of his presence after more than a quarter-century brought a feeling of hope back to the “colored” people of South Africa.
In 1994, South Africa held the first fully representative, democratic presidential election. History changed as blacks gained the right to vote, waiting in mile-long lines to cast their ballots. In this all-race election, Nelson Mandela won by a landslide. He inspired the world to promote leadership in people of all ethnicities. He had contributed to the transformation of making his country a multi-racial democracy. The new government repealed policies of apartheid, people achieved racial equality, and Nelson Mandela finally fulfilled his ultimate dream.
Nelson Mandela, a complex and courageous man filled with perseverance, fought for the South Africans’ basic rights of equality, human dignity, and happiness. As a resistance leader, he dedicated many years of his life to activism and put exceeding efforts and thoughts into his every move. He assisted in turning his country into a multi-racial democracy and reunited the people of South Africa. Nelson Mandela showed the world a freedom fighter and a single man who changed his country. He is a true hero, for her pursued even when all odds were against him. Mandela reflects, “After climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom come responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not yet ended.”
Gino Scalo: History Teacher, Carmel Valley Middle School
By mylifeisM6, Encinitas, CA
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Photo credit: Ellena p., Northoaks, MN
The author's comments:
Mr. Scalo is an influential teacher and one of the funniest I have ever had. Thanks for making middle school a little less boring.
Before I first stepped into the frigid atmosphere of Mr. Scalo's realm, I pulled on my fur-lined parka and took out my sealskin gloves, well-prepared and ready to brave the cold.
Well, actually, I just shivered and tugged at the ends of my T-shirt, wishing I had brought a jacket. I stepped through the door and craned my neck to look for familiar faces that first day of school. Unfortunately, I did not get to sit with my friends since the assigned seats were arranged in alphabetical order. I was forced to sit in the front column of desks while my friends sat far away, in the other half of the frozen tundra of a classroom.
I have an abundance of friends who had Mr. Scalo as their history teacher, and I heard he was challenging. I heard his classroom was an icebox. But all my friends described him as funny. Whether they meant odd or humorous, I wasn't sure. Now I consider him to be both.
Mr. Scalo was a contestant on “Jeopardy” a few years ago. On the last day of school before winter break, he showed us a “special video presentation.” Though we did not watch the whole show, we saw him make it past his first day on the show, and we couldn't help but cheer him on. We were impressed with his knowledge of presidents' inaugural speeches (to teens this seems the most boring topic ever), but we were not the least bit surprised.
Mr. Scalo is undoubtedly odd in his own way. Instead of the flexible document cameras that some teachers use, Mr. Scalo insists on an old-school overhead projector that requires transparencies and squeaky markers. In fact, he even told us that he refused to change from chalkboards to whiteboards in his previous school. Eventually, he was forced to use them when he moved to teach in sunny Cali, where the schools already had slick whiteboards.
His classroom is home to an agglomeration of rusty, antique-looking Swingline staplers that are probably older than I am. I had never seen a stapler like his before. But despite their apparent age, they have never broken. Mr. Scalo once joked that Abraham Lincoln had used one of his staplers. Had his tone not been so comical, we might have believed him.
Mr. Scalo never fails to make us laugh, which is why he still is my favorite teacher. His humor is irresistible, and he makes history – a subject that some consider bland and boring – a class to look forward to. The words in our history book become an enjoyable story when told in a clever way. Of course, Mr. Scalo's talent of speaking in hilarious accents with edgy humor helps.
However, his class is still a challenge for even the brightest students. We have to memorize the states, their capitals, and their locations at the beginning of the year. This was just the start of a long, hard struggle with memorizing that year. After states, we learned the presidents, from George Washington to Barack Obama, and their vice presidents and terms. This once caused me to have a dream that Justin Bieber changed his name to J. Danforth Quayle (for those who are not familiar with him, Quayle was vice president under George H.W. Bush, the 41st president). We are currently halfway through memorizing 100 important dates in U.S. history.
Mr. Scalo is a dynamic teacher, one I am very lucky to have. Though I'll admit his classroom no longer feels like Antarctica, he is still significantly different from most of my teachers. His way of teaching through humor is appealing and easy to follow, but his challenging requirements keep students on their toes. He is unique in his teaching skills and his quirkiness, which makes him an unequaled mentor in the lessons of yesteryear.