Last week I presented to all three 8th grade teams at the Fremont Middle School. After a brief introduction I presented the following question to each team.
The most thoughtful responses are published here on this posting. I am encouraged and touched by what they wrote. My goal was to have them think, to ask the hard questions and support them to find the hard answers. They were generous and courageous enough to share their opinions with me to be published. I am not asking you to agree, but to respect their opinions and thoughts to the question at hand. I encourage comments about what the students wrote or your own thoughts about the question.
Mr. Roff prepares the students for our time together.
Ayana B.,
In
our lifetime we have seen and heard lots of news. To some people, it may not seem like much, but to others it
actually does mean a lot and I am one of those people. Saving the life of a mountain gorilla
or any kind of animal means a lot; we the people of the world should not take
the beauty of our Earth for granted by any means. These animals were given to us as a gift, not for us to
harm. The year 2009 was dedicated
to the gorilla; people actually took a stand to protect a living gift. People should not take living things
for granted because they might have a purpose on our Earth, which is home. I think the Dian Fossey Organization if
great. Mountain gorillas only live
to be about 35 years of age, which is not a long time to me! If people in the world took the time
and stared to realize how important stuff is, then we could really have a lot
more mountain gorillas and save other species of gorillas as well. Instead we only have about 720 mountain
gorillas left in the world and only about 40% of the babies actually survive in
their harsh environment.
Gorillas
are unique in their own way; they all have different noses and have 25
different ways to communicate with one another. As gorillas sleep each night they build a new nest so they
are never sleeping in the same bed.
Each morning they leave a little surprise behind to let other gorillas
know they were there. The Dian
Fossey Organization is amazing; it is great we have this in our world. They help protect baby gorillas from harm,
like ropes and wires that people use to capture animals, either to eat or sell,
sometimes it goes both ways. Baby
gorillas are very curious, just like people are. If a 450 pound gorilla came up to you, what would you
do? Well me, I would stay calm because
just like you and me, they fear us, even though they may not show it as much
because they are curious creatures.
People
need to take a stand and say what they have to say! Make a change in the world,
stand up and make a difference, people need to hear it, just like the
organization did to help gorillas.
Not only did they help the gorillas, they helped to make a change in our
world! Helping animals is one of
my lifelong dreams, so my answer to making an effort to help and protect the
last remaining mountain gorillas is YES!!
P.S. LOVED the
presentation
David C.,
We
should save these gorillas because they are all majestic animals. We all should at least care for
them. Someone has to start, I
will. If you can, it would mean
the world to them. Helping them
could save them all, or just one… People like Dian Fossey (R.I.P.) gave their
lives for them. These animals will
not harm you, for now they love you, and always will no matter what choice you
make. If you or anyone reading
this knows that you CAN make a difference, please do something to help. These species/animals have made no harm
towards us so why should we commit life-threatening acts towards them everyday? My name is David Lee Crosby of Fremont,
NE and I care, so why can’t you? I
want you to think right now…why can’t I care? What can I do?
YOU can do EVERYTHING!
Ciarra W.,
Should
we save the last remaining mountain gorillas? YES. We should
because we have ruined enough of their ecosystem already that we should at least
try to salvage some of it instead of acting like careless maniacs and ruining
everything we touch. If we kill
them off then the land goes, and then all of those poor people’s lives in
Rwanda along with it. So, this
isn’t a “do we be good people and save this species”, it’s a test of our
humanity. Not of what we put off,
but of who we really are inside.
And the answer is not to put them in zoos, but to let them live in their
natural habitat. We need to act
like people, not killers!
Hallie B.,
Do
I think we should save the mountain gorilla? Yes, I do. The
mountain gorillas are beautiful animals.
Silverback or blackback, they all deserve to live. The mountain gorillas
are an endangered species, with only 720 left in the wild. They can grow up to six feet tall and
weigh 450 pounds, but that doesn’t mean they can protect themselves from
vicious traps set by desperate poachers.
Mountain gorillas can not reproduce as fast as other animals, they can
only have a baby every 3 years or so and are pregnant for 8.5 months. The tragic thing is that 40% of those
babies don’t live past their first year of life. If poachers kill a mother with a baby under a three, that
baby will die, even if it has a strong family. Within a week two lives will have been lost by human
causes. So… if we could band
together and help those animals, we could save a nation.
Becca M.,
Should
we make an effort to protect the last remaining mountain gorillas? YES!!! In a way, it is kind of like the Holocaust. The poachers are eliminating gorillas
almost as if someone were trying to kill off all human beings . Many people would work hard to make
sure that didn’t happen so why can’t we work hard for the gorillas as
well? I’m the kind of person that
doesn’t just think all people are equal, I think EVERYTHING is equal. If you wouldn’t do it to a human,
why do it to a defenseless animal?
I admire Dian Fossey. Not
only did she spend her life trying to help the gorillas, she died for them
too. And that is something I’ll
probably NEVER be able to do – she’s AWESOME!
Sarah N.,
I
think that yes, we should make an effort to protect mountain gorillas, a life
is a life. If the decreasing
population is due to human causes we should make an effort to stop it. I believe that nature has its way of
dealing with things naturally, but this isn’t natural, the gorillas can’t
protect themselves from us humans.
The forest is all they know and when we interfere that throws off their
whole life cycle. They do not live
long, 35 short years of life, and they can only reproduce every three
years. They are dying faster than
they are being born. Every animal,
including humans, deserve a chance at life with no interference.
Heather W.,
I
think we should protect the gorillas.
They are animals and sometimes we have to step in and help them
out. We caused some of their
deaths by poaching them and we need to stop this and take care of them like
every other endangered animal.
Like Dean Jacobs said, “40% of newborn babies don’t make it after their
first year.” If we stop poaching
their population over time will increase.
Gorilla’s are just like humans; they have fingers and hearts and care
for each other, they even make bonds by cleaning each other. So stop sitting there while gorillas
and other endangered species have no say in what happens. Have feelings for animals that need our
help!
Abbie G.,
Yes,
we should make an effort to protect the last remaining mountain gorillas. I think that it is very bad that there
are only 720 mountain gorillas left in the whole world. Just think how life would be if the
whole dog species was totally abolished; we need to do something! Dian Fossey was a wonderful woman for
creating the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund.
I
think that it is cool how a gorilla can beat on its chest and it will mean
different things. Like if they
beat on their chests with open palms, that is a sign of happiness, but if they
use closed fists, it is a sign of aggression. I think a lot of people in the United States don’t really
accumulate in their minds how bad the people in Rwanda have it. I think if people actually understand
the way they live it wouldn’t matter what kind of clothes people wear or how
much money you have because people in Rwanda don’t have expensive clothes, nor
do they even have much money.
Rwanda is a country in poverty, which means they barely even have enough
money to feed their families. In
Rwanda they live on $2.50/day, which is $.45 more than what our school lunch
costs!
It
really affects me how Dean Jacobs raised money to buy notebooks and pens for
the children of Rwanda; you are a real hero because you realize that it is
useful to help those in need. When
I am older, I want to create a foundation for saving animals because they are
helpless when it comes to human interactions. Thanks for coming to our school; you have changed my life,
Mr. Dean Jacobs.
Brittany S.,
Should
we make an effort to protest the last remaining mountain gorillas? YES!!! First of all gorillas deserve respect, they respect us so we
should respect them. Yes, I know
they’re gorillas, but you don’t see them going after us with 30aut6’s and
machetes. Why it is okay and even
common to use their hands for ashtrays, but with humans it’s never heard of and
considered unlawful and unjust?
Gorillas share 98% of their genetic makeup wit humans; some people
believe that we descend from gorillas.
The jungle of Rwanda is filled with medicinal plants. Gorillas are susceptible to human
diseases, yet there’s never been a single recorded case of gorillas getting
cancer. If their DNA is so similar
to us, and is we indeed descend from them, then why have they never gotten sick
with diseases such as leukemia and pancreatic cancer? Could it be perhaps one of the many plants they eat? If they become extinct how will we ever
know?
In
this day and age 40% of baby gorillas don’t make it to the age of one, and that
in and of itself isn’t helping the gorilla population at all. Also, people are hunting them for their
own guilty pleasure and making it worse. Another issue that’s affecting gorillas that I would
like to bring up is the atmosphere.
Between all of the factories, the car exhaust, and the greenhouse gases,
the air is becoming polluted. I
mean think about how hard it is to breathe down here sometimes. It gets harder to breathe the higher
you go up anyway and the polluted air only makes it worse, and gorillas have to
breathe too. Think of how it
affects them? It’s almost
impossible to spot a cross-river gorilla and if we’re not careful the mountain
gorilla will become extinct.
So
please do your part to help save the gorillas. Whether it be spreading the word or joining a carpool.
Jordan S.,
Should
we make an effort to protect the last remaining mountain gorillas? Yes! I think we should make an effort
to protect the last remaining mountain gorillas because gorillas are amazing
animals that are treasures to the world.
If the gorillas would become extinct it would be a huge loss. If gorillas became extinct our
grandchildren would never know what gorillas looked like.
Jennifer H.,
You
know this question can really go both ways. Some people say no, we should focus on our own society and
fix our own problems, yet others say we need to help the gorillas and keep them
alive. As for me, I think we need
to protect the gorillas, I mean I think improving our society is just as
important as protecting them, but I think there needs to be some balance. Animals in general are amazing
creatures and I think that all animals should be protected and be able to have
an area to live in.
Katie S.,
I
believe that everyone should make an effort to save the mountain gorillas. It’s beyond my understanding why anyone
would poach these animal, they haven’t done anything to us and it’s really mean
that someone would kill them for their own benefit. I would love to experience actually seeing any type of
gorilla in the wild. Dean Jacobs
has inspired tons of people, including me, that we can do something. I want to help them in the future.
Rachel D.,
Yes,
we can make an effort for the remaining gorillas because they are kind of like
us humans, where family means family and nobody gets left behind. I’m pretty sure that the gorillas would
choose to save us, if they were given the choice.
Susy G.,
God
gave us this world to live in and enjoy.
If we destroy all we have then well, what’s the use of even having
one? What would happen to us if we
just let everything die? Every
living thing has a purpose in this world.
It is important to help and protect what we have while we still have
it. So yes, doing what we can to
preserve nature is important.
However, while preserving nature is a good objective, we must also make
an effort to help our brothers and sisters who are also in great need. It seems in some cases we treat animals
better than we treat people and this is not right. We cannot help one and completely forget the other. Where’s the good in that? Or for example, we mourn dearly for
dying baby animals, but support the killing of children through abortions. This world is so corrupt and I support
doing what we can to help humans and animals alike; to make a difference in
this world.
Ana G.
Yes,
we should definitely put our best efforts towards saving the gorillas. If the human race were decreasing in
population we would do anything to save us. Why should they be any different? There are only 720 left, we should make the best of that 720
while we can and hope for more of them.
Helping them out would mean a lot to people, and the world to those
mountain gorillas left.
Kelsi A.,
What’s
the point of harming the mountain gorillas when they don’t harm you? What did they do to deserve this? I think we should try to protect the
remaining mountain gorillas; they do not deserve to be killed. Last year we watched “Gorillas in the
Mist” and some of the things they were doing to the gorillas was
atrocious. It showed how the
people attacked them and killed them.
In every killing you saw, none of the gorillas did one thing to deserve
death. The only mean thing I know
they do is defend themselves and their family; it is not like they attack
random people like we do to them.
The gorillas are like humans in many ways; they have feelings and they
deserve to live, just like us!
To find the solutions for today and tomorrow's challenges we must be able to create a space where a true dialog exists. A place where opinions are respected and acknowledged, not rubber stamped or shut down. A place where these opinions can be held up to the scrutiny of the public eye and pass the test of civility and dignity.
That was the goal, that was the intention for this exercise.
Cheers,
Dean
