"On your mark, get set, go!"" ... It was as if I was going to start running and wouldn't be able to stop; at times it even felt like I had wings. ... My legs started shaking, I felt like I was going to fall flat on my face. ... To me weightlifting required so much more than leg strength; it required you to be both physically and mentally strong. ... My grades dropped and I was not going to let that happen so I quit marching band. ...

• Word Count: 1639
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

I just knew I was going to get hurt, but I told myself I would not play in fear. ... The first pass of the game, I stole the ball going down to the opposite end of the court. ... Not only was my ankle swollen and was suffering from discoloration but it also looked like it was dangling from my leg; I had to have an air cast to support it from hanging. ... This disease teaches you to be patient with them because they really don't understand what is going on. ... Like I reinstated earlier, patience is the key to helping them understand what is going on. ...

• Word Count: 2069
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

McCourt paints a picture of a school that is unruly, unorganized, and led by teachers and administrators that are only going through the motions. ... They"d march you up and down the halls with sticks and if you didn't walk properly you"d get a stick across the backs of your legs so you would." ... Go through the motions. ... After exploring a closet in the back of his classroom, he discovers hundreds of uncorrected student compositions going back to 1942. ... In one instance, a female student goes to the front of the class to assist McCourt in taking attendance on his first day. ...

• Word Count: 1906
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

So-called integrated learning systems, which deliver entire curriculums to student's sittings at workstations in a learning laboratory, practically guarantee that grade point averages will go up. ... Many feel it will give their children a leg up or at least equal footing inclass. ... So-called integrated learning systems, which deliver entire curriculums to student's sittings at workstations in a learning laboratory, practically guarantee that grade point averages will go up. ...

• Word Count: 2078
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School