Defending the “Bad Guys”: Joli Bartczack presents her project on the Kakamora, the tiny pirate coconuts from Moana, to her English class. She had been a student at Melbourne High since her freshman year and was now a junior in Mrs. Courtney Boos’ class. For this project, students had to pick a villain and prove they were actually misunderstood instead of evil. Bartczack said she picked the Kakamora because she thought they were funny and enjoyed explaining how they only attacked Moana and Maui out of self-defense. She shared that the project wasn’t too hard and was actually pretty fun to make. “Mrs. Boos gives a lot of projects like this, slightly fun but still learning,” Bartczack said. Photo by Lily Majors

Misunderstood Coconuts

Mel High Journalism

January 5, 2026

Misunderstood Coconuts by Lily Majors

Joli Bartczack, a junior at Melbourne High, reflected on a recent project in Mrs. Boos’ class where students had to prove that a villain was actually innocent and just misunderstood. For her presentation, Bartczack, chose the Kakamora, the small pirate coconuts from Moana. She explained that the project was “not bad at all and was pretty fun,” showing how creative assignments could make learning more enjoyable.

During the assignment, students were given five days to research and prepare their arguments. Bartczack described how her chosen villains “only attacked Moana and Maui because they felt threatened and are used to having to fight to survive and defend themselves.” This perspective helped her present the Kakamora as protective rather than evil. She added that Mrs. Boos often assigned “projects like this, slightly fun but still learning,” which made the class both educational and engaging.

Bartczack said the project not only helped her understand her villain better but also gave her insight into what future assignments in the class might be like. Through this activity, students practiced creativity, persuasion, and critical thinking while exploring new perspectives on familiar stories. Overall, Bartczack’s experience showed how even small pirate coconuts could teach big lessons about empathy and understanding.

Captions: Defending the “Bad Guys”: Joli Bartczack presents her project on the Kakamora, the tiny pirate coconuts from Moana, to her English class. She had been a student at Melbourne High since her freshman year and was now a junior in Mrs. Courtney Boos’ class. For this project, students had to pick a villain and prove they were actually misunderstood instead of evil. Bartczack said she picked the Kakamora because she thought they were funny and enjoyed explaining how they only attacked Moana and Maui out of self-defense. She shared that the project wasn’t too hard and was actually pretty fun to make. “Mrs. Boos gives a lot of projects like this, slightly fun but still learning,” Bartczack said. Photo by Lily Majors