Melody McLain Contemporary Literacy Blog

The author gives credit to mentors that forced him to get serious about his behavior. Do you have a mentor? How have they helped you this far?  Wes struggles to truly answer the question: why did he and the other Wes Moore lead such different lives? One aspect he believes set them apart was the people influencing them. Wes praises his community filled with his mother, grandparents, uncles and aunts, and chain of command at Valley Forge. He was provided with support, and structure and was constantly enabled to make better choices and stop the cycle. On page 179, Wes states that these mentors “who kept pushing [him] to see more than what was directly in front of [him],” was the main thing that made him tap into the unexplored possibilities within himself.. While he did not particularly enjoy these decisions at first, like the forced military school enrollment, they benefited him in the long run. His mentors such as the president of Johns Hopkins, William Brody, and Lieutenant Colonel...

The other Wes Moore needed to tell his mother that he got Alicia pregnant. Have you ever had to give someone news that you knew would break their heart? How did you build up the courage? Wes is slowly growing fond of the quiet suburban neighborhood but still misses the speed and intensity of the city. One of the girls he meets on the school bus is Alicia. They quickly become close and two months later she discovers she is pregnant. Wes is in denial at first, shocked and confused. While teenage pregnancies are common in Baltimore, Wes is not happy and the idea of becoming a father. Alicia is confident that she can raise the baby in a two-parent household with stability to be different from what she and West did not have. Since Wes grew up without a father, he is anxious and uncertain that he will be a good one. “The idea of becoming a father depressed Wes, but he wasn’t sure why. He didn’t have to worry about feeling alone or like a pariah. Wes and Alicia’s situation was anything but ex...

The author explains that the other Wes Moore’s life is different because he made different decisions when it came to life choices. Have you ever made a decision that you believe could have altered your life path? The decisions we make significantly influence our life's outcome. Every choice, no matter how large or small, molds together and steers our lives in specific directions. The Other Wes Moore involves two children, both with the same name and same environment but drastically different because of their different decisions. They can either be direct consequences, such as following a specific career path or living somewhere that directly affects your lifestyle and health. There are also small, unchanging, choices that build up over time that lead to such as daily decisions about dieting and physical movement, and budgeting can affect someone long term. Each decision has different effects either opening doors and/or closing them. While the author Wes Moore is a Rhodes scholar, a...

Before watching this film I did not quite understand the question. We can be products of both our environment and expectations. They both matter. Support that comes from being in a specific environment is crucial for growing adolescence. Support in the home, and from the neighborhood with a proper education are crucial. Parents are their child’s first and best teacher. It’s not that they do not care about educating their children, it’s that they do not know. Although some think it may be common knowledge, it really is not because everyone has their own upbringing.  Everyone has different environments and expectations. Expectations are not born from nowhere, we have one’s we set for ourselves and ones set on us. They are born from what other people see in their own future and push to us. Expectations are externally and internally so important. The Other Wes Moore is about two kids with the same name, similar backgrounds, similar circumstances, that end up going in completely differe...