Literacy

          Being able to read and write is something you learn as a child that helps you for the rest of your life. It is a tool you use everywhere you go. Words are everywhere and you have to read for almost everything you do. Cooking, driving, reading, these are just three of the many things people to everyday that require reading. I do not know what I would do without being able to read and write because it is so important in my life. Many more jobs are open to me because I can handle their tasks that include reading and it makes it easier to live life.
          Charles Johnson, from "Don't Drive Like My Brother," was illiterate and was also a truck driver. He lived everyday confused because he wasn't able to read signs or write anything down. He wasn't quite sure where he was going at any time and just focused on his goal. After Charles was able to read he says it feels like "your alive." He didn't feel like he was living life until he was able to read and until he was able to know where he was going. I agree with Charles, and feel that reading and writing makes life so much easier and he can now live through life un-confused.

A Muslim Vail

          Not only is the vail a part of religion to the Muslim culture for women, but it is also a sense of protection. While reading Marysan Haydar's, Veiled Intentions: Don't Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering, I learned more about the reason why they were the veils which surpassed the stereotype I had once believed. I always believed that Muslim women wore the dress coverings and veils because in their religion men forced them to cover up, which isn't true. Marysan explains many advantages why they wear them including safety and choice. Personally, I feel there are a few disadvantages including freedom of expression and experiences in life.
          Marysan believes that the veil provides safety in the way that people do not judge her when looking at her and that she won't be harassed. I agree with this because it is true she won't be judged for what she is wearing, her hair, or makeup. But I do believe people will judge her because she is wearing the veil. She also discusses how it's her choice to wear the veil, not because she is forced too. I believe that even though it is her choice to wear the veil she is missing out on doing her hair and extra things a girl goes through to get ready. She is also missing out on things she feels are "damaging experiences" (Haydar 415) which are things in life you go through to make mistakes and learn from, that shape how you are as a person.

Transgenders on University Campuses

        There is a lot of controversy concerning the issue wether students should be aloud to remain at a college if they change there sex after admission, and the university is a same sex university. Personally I feel it is a persons own choice to decide who they are and what they want to be. I understand that if you are a transgender or are unsure who you are, you could face problems and harassment. But that person is deciding on there own wether they want to face that or not. If you decide to attend a university that is all male for example, and you are male, but decide to change to a female while attending the university, I feel you should be able to stay there and graduate. It is unfair to take something away from something because of there sex. The only concern I have is that it is a same sex college so having a different sex on campus may cause a lot of controversy.
         One quote that really stood out to me in this article was, "[w]e admit women," VandenBerg said. "We graduate students. They develop as they develop." I like how this quote was said because it shows that students have to right to choose who they want to be. And that by attending a university a student is able to grow and become whoever they want to become. 

Because I wanted something...

           The quote "Every act you have ever performed since the day you were born was performed because you wanted something‟ by Andrew Carnegie is true and false in many ways. I personally make decisions about things because I feel they are right, they may not be because I want them. For example, I want a pick-up truck. But I have made the decision not to buy one because I wouldn't be right for this time. Yes, I want a pick-up truck, but it is not right for me. So although I may want it, the act performed went against that. 
           Although I have made many decisions in my life that I didn't want to, most of my actions performed have been made because I've wanted something. I want to make decisions that satisfy me. I want to make decisions and perform actions that will be best for my future and so that I live happily. I really like this quote and I feel that everyone should make decisions for themselves. Sometimes those decisions may not be what we want, we should try to live for ourselves and perform as many actions as we can to make ourselves happy and get what we want. 

Free The Taxpayers!

Michelle Malkin's blog post was very confusing to read at first. Her word choice and the way she presented it made it very confusing to follow. I found myself lost in many of the paragraphs. There are a lot of things in this blog that are unclear to me. After thoroughly reading this blog another time I realized her main focus. I understand why the perspective could be created of Michelle having biased ideas. But I also understand where she is coming from with believing that these programs should not be given funding especially if there are making those types of comments. I am still kind of confused on the whole entire story.

Racism

         I understand where many can obtain the idea that racism was present in the movie the Blind Side and throughout the main idea from this article. But I personally feel that it is not true. Although yes it may be portrayed that white people are always taking in blacks such as adoption or in this case with sports, but the movie shouldn't gain that point of view. It is a true story about something that happened. Although that it is following a stereotypical story line it is just stating facts. A white family took in Michael Oher. The movie is just trying to recreate what actually happened. If they had changed it to an African American family that took him in, they wouldn't be stating facts and would no longer be a true story.

          I personally feel that racism will always be a problem. This is because people still treat others differently. Because our nation had a problem with it in the past, many feel that is carries on. We need to escape this world of stereotyping and not look as everything said against someone else as racism. Just because Michael was taken in by a white family shouldn't be creating an addition to this stereotype. 

Real Men Can Wear Pink

          It is very true that in today's society pink is considered to be a feminine color. Yes, there are men and boys out there that will wear a pink shirt here or there, but it is very rare to see one wearing pants with butterfly's or flowers embroidered on them. It is even more common for babies to be more color segregated. This is due to the image that has been created. Baby boys should be wearing blue, baby girls should be wearing pink, and yellow is a neutral color for both boys and girls. I personally agree and disagree with this article. I feel that boys should be able to wear anything they want, and that includes pink. They shouldn't be looked at differently because they want to wear a certain color. I also believe that by having a baby wear more girlie things you are making boys and girls more equal. One problem that I feel arise's from this is many feel that by changing the perception of what is feminine and masculine could change a lot. Many feel that they want to be more feminine or masculine and by doing this won't wear something that would make it questionable. Personally I feel it should be anyone's choice to wear what they want to wear. It should be equal. If a male doesn't want to wear pink because it feels it will make him look feminine, then he doesn't have to wear pink. A real man can wear pink because he is comfortable with his sexuality.

Phoebe Prince

          It's undeniable that this was an act of bullying. It is crazy to think that a girl could commit suicide because someone or multiple people harassed her so bad. I am very happy that this article was published. Why? Because then so many people understand that bullying is a major problem in today's society. We learn through reading this article that cyber-bullying also played a major role. Now, since the internet is used so much more often, children are finding it easier to attack someone on the computer rather then doing it to there face. The problem is that is equally as bad as bullying someone to their face. We see that cyber-bullying is a problem through the suicide of this young girl, Phoebe Prince. Hopefully other school districts and parents out there read this so they understand the problem and find better ways to prevent this from happening.
           I feel that through reading this article all of the students involved should be punished. Although they did not commit a murder and kill Phoebe, they are responsible for her death. If it was not for them Phoebe would still be alive. In my eyes there bullying was just as bad as killing her themselves. After reading through most of the comments I can see that there is two separate sides to this case. Many are stories about when they were children and how they were bullied, and others are questioning why all six are being charged. But what I also noticed is that although some are against all six being charged, there are reply's to their posts, and then the person who believed all should not be charged changes their mind. For example Mac McClelland states that he doesn't understand why all are being charger, then after Jason argues that Mac states "No, I've been completely won over by the strength of your argument." This makes me realize that if more understand why all should be charged then they will. Then more will understand the problems that bullying is creating.

Charging money for failing students?

Phaedrus explains in the excerpt from Chapter 13 in the book Zen and Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, that the University of Montana was fined 8,000 dollars for every student who failed by the state legislature. How could you charge a school for a kid failing? As an act to talk against this, Phaedrus discussed this with his students. His students agreed with the state, and Phaedrus knew that they didn't understand the whole idea. He created his next day's lecture around this accreditation idea, naming it the Church of Reason lecture. Here he discussed why the school isn't a "material object" nor is it "a group of buildings that can defended by police." This lecture expanded on how everything should be taught the way it is taught and that the students will learn how they want to learn. I agree with his statement on why the teachers should not be responsible for the way a student learns. Yes, they should teach them everything possible and should not give up on anyone, but the school should not be penalized for a students failing grade. That is just un-heard of. I feel that Phaedrus's lecture about the Church of Reason really explained his ideas and helped others understand his ideas as well.

Drug Addiction

           Drug and alcohol addiction is very common during this decade. Why is this? Well in my eyes I believe because of society. Yes, we are told that drugs and alcohol are bad, but I feel that many use these things to be a rebel and go against what society is telling us. I also believe that because so many people use drugs that many others want to fit in by using them. In the article Does Teen Drug Rehab Cure Addiction or Create It by Mia Szalavitz, we read about drug rehab and how many feel it is not helping. This is because many that go to rehab feel it is only increasing their addiction. When in group therapy, patients discuss what they've done, not how to change their past. This creates images in the patients head of other types of drugs they can use.
           I know a couple of people that went to rehab. I have heard stories about what they have done there and I also know what happened to them when they came home. One of my really good friends throughout high school was sent to a rehab. After completing her time there she returned home, only to continue what she was doing before she left. Again her parents sent her back to rehab. Now she is sober. I feel that when she was sent to the first rehab she wasn't taken away from what she knew; she was only told what not to do. During her stay at the second rehab she was in a wilderness, completely secluded from society. Here she learned how she could handle life without the addiction. I believe that a choice to change is made by the person them self. They have to be convinced that they can change and get rid of there addictions.

Fat tax for America?

What would the United States come to if it were to place a tax on junk food or soda? Daniel Engber, author  of the article "Let Them Drink Water!" explains how junk food is effecting the health of Americans. Although junk food is eaten by almost everyone in the world, people that are poor and obese are the one's who would be affected. Why is this? Well, people that are unable to afford junk food will not be able to eat it, and if there obese then they may find it very hard to eat anything else. But there are plenty of people that are rich and obese, so by implementing this tax they would not be affected. The idea of making America healthier by placing a tax on junk food, in this case, would not work. Another argument in this article is what if they placed a tax on an actual obese person? They would charge them by how many pounds they were over weight. In my opinion by doing this you are targeting specific people. That is just mean and rude. What if the people are happy being obese? You can't just place a tax on them because you want them to be healthier. It is important to make sure everyone in the world is healthy. But although we may feel by doing this we have to create a tax on certain food, may not work in that favor. Obesity is a problem in the world today, but by changing this we have to make the obese people want to change themselves for the better.

Glenn Beck rewrites civil rights history

Both Loewen and Bunch tell their readers that now a day history is perceived in a different way. The essay "Something Has Gone Very Wrong" by James Loewen describes how students are unable to comprehend what is written in textbooks. He explains that the publishers of these history textbooks have lost sight of the present and are only focusing on the past. They are not writing their books for the readers they are writing them for the buyers. The article “Glenn Beck Rewrites Civil Rights History” by Will Bunch also carries the same thoughts. Bunch talks about a re-education campaign to help educate others about history because it is so important. I feel that if both authors were to have a conversation they would discuss all of there ideas of how history is not stressed enough in education. They may disagree though on the subject of authorship. By this I mean Loewen blames the publishers for not making textbooks interesting enough for students. But Bunch blames history it self. For not being explained thoroughly and that it is only scripted.

            I personally agree with both Loewen and Bunch. I believe that the publishers of textbooks do need to focus on the present and find a way to get all of this information across to its readers. History is so important to discern, and everyone should understand it. I also feel that history is not written to the fullest. Yes, I understand that every moment of history cannot be written detail for detail, but I deem a lot of it is missing.  Through reading both articles I understand that we take history for granted and hopefully I can take these ideas and use them in the future.