The documentary startled me but was a reminder of problems that are embedded in my brain. When I heard we were going to be watching this documentary I said to myself “I know the premise of this documentary before viewing it.” I was correct. I knew they were going to bring up civil rights (in some manner). I knew they were going to talk about homes without fathers. I knew they were going to talk about hatred within our own race. I knew they were going to talking about African-Americans in the corporate world. But what took me by surprise in all of this was the statistics. The statistics were heart breaking if not depressing.
In America it is hard to believe we have these staggering statistics. The first statistic to grab my attention was 1 out of every 3 black male would have a criminal record. Immediately after hearing this I imagined Kwame, Jeron and myself standing against a wall. Then all of sudden one of us was randomly chosen to have a criminal record. That is what the statistic meant to me. The second statistic that stood out was black men hold 3% of management jobs in America. There are many problems that factor into that percent. Most start from elementary and just build up until high school. Some of the problems surfaced in the documentary. One of which related to me. This was the segment about hatred within our race. In 4th grade was the first time I remember a joke pointed towards me in the context of your white. After that I used to hear it all the time from classmates. One of the reasons why was (like in the documentary) I didn’t fit the stereotype. The last statistic that I took note of was 60% of black children will grow up without a father. This statistic I could relate to even more than the previous but this statistic didn’t surprise me. Sadly it didn’t surprise me because most kids I went to school with didn’t have a father figure.
After listening to the documentary I could be depressed or hopeful. I could be depressed because there was so much negativity or hopeful because there is a possibility of succeeding. Prime examples of black man succeeding were the Chief Executive Officer and District Attorney. Both of these people gave me hope. They not only gave me hope but a guideline to succession. The guideline was simple just work hard and stay on top.
In conclusion, there many topics brought up in the documentary. None of which surprised me except for one. The main part that surprised me was the statistics. The statistics were almost unbearable to watch. Even though negativity was prevalent in this documentary there was some positive points. Two of them were black man who succeeded in many aspects of life. In any case this documentary has been presented well.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Last Days of Summer Blog
In the Last days of summer the author does a superb job of writing minor details that hint towards a character's physical description, personality and feelings. The flow of the story is smooth considering this style of writing. Personally I think that the story flows like it does because of the details and letters going back and forth between characters in the book. For instance, you can tell that Charlie is not book smart because of the few remarks he makes towards his self and also his spelling mistakes made in the book. One example is on page 213 when he mentions in a letter to Aunt Carrie and Joey's mother that he can't dial numbers on the telephone sometimes. Secondly, you also can tell that Charlie is a tough guy. This is because of the newspapers that give a description of what happened in the baseballs games. It was always Charlie punching another guy or getting into a fight with them. Also when writing to Joey he always made remarks about how he was going to rough up another person or Joey. Another thing Steve Kluger does is show Joey's report cards which shows what type of personality Joey has.
You can tell because on his report cards he gets all As in every class except obedience. This showed that he was not only bright but he was mischievous. Another way the epistolary style illustrates the story is threw different characters perspectives. The two main people that this happens between is Charlie and Joey. For example when Joey was one of the top 10 students in the nation to meet Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife in the white house. Joey writes to Hazel "don't believe anything Joey tells you". Then he goes on to tell her all the things that happened such as how Charlie kicked Joey extremely hard and how he reacted to the president. Exactly after that you see the letter that Joey writes to Hazel(which is more descriptive). When he explains the events that went on he writes about things Joey did not mention such as winking at Eleanor Roosevelt and calling her toots. Now once you have read both you can start to piece them together and fill in the empty spots. Which in turn gives you a whole outlook on how that event took place in the book.
In conclusion, the epistolary style was used in various ways by the author. I choose two of the ways he uses the epistolary style to illustrate the story. First, he used minor details in the letters to hint towards a character's physical description personality and feelings. One of the examples I used was the remarks Charlie makes against himself indicating he is not book smart. My last point was that he illustrated the story through different character's perspectives. The example I used here was the letters Charlie and Joey sent letters to Hazel on their trip to visit the President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
You can tell because on his report cards he gets all As in every class except obedience. This showed that he was not only bright but he was mischievous. Another way the epistolary style illustrates the story is threw different characters perspectives. The two main people that this happens between is Charlie and Joey. For example when Joey was one of the top 10 students in the nation to meet Franklin D. Roosevelt and his wife in the white house. Joey writes to Hazel "don't believe anything Joey tells you". Then he goes on to tell her all the things that happened such as how Charlie kicked Joey extremely hard and how he reacted to the president. Exactly after that you see the letter that Joey writes to Hazel(which is more descriptive). When he explains the events that went on he writes about things Joey did not mention such as winking at Eleanor Roosevelt and calling her toots. Now once you have read both you can start to piece them together and fill in the empty spots. Which in turn gives you a whole outlook on how that event took place in the book.
In conclusion, the epistolary style was used in various ways by the author. I choose two of the ways he uses the epistolary style to illustrate the story. First, he used minor details in the letters to hint towards a character's physical description personality and feelings. One of the examples I used was the remarks Charlie makes against himself indicating he is not book smart. My last point was that he illustrated the story through different character's perspectives. The example I used here was the letters Charlie and Joey sent letters to Hazel on their trip to visit the President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Book (Cujo) Blog
While reading my book I have a hard time reading it because of the horror. Most Stephen kings books are either fantasy or horror and that was what I was looking for when purchasing the book. My mom and a few others read many Stephen King books and told me about the plots and I assumed they all had some sort of thrill. One of the books my mom talked to me about was called The Stand about the nuclear bomb that went off and I was in total shock expecting for my book Cujo to be full of excitement, thrill and horror. I was so excited that I watched three Stephen king movies (the mist, 1408 and Dream catcher). This all was true after reading the first few pages of the book which was about the serial killer Frank Dodd and his killing spree that went on for a while. After reading those first few pages when I purchased the book I immediately decided not to read the book ever at night because I quite frankly was scared with each word I read. As the book continued my fright decreased and started to turn into disappointment and regret.
A couple of days later I picked up the book read a few pages from where I started and my excitement and expectations for the book were dwindling. My expectations started dwindling as I read each page because of the tediousness and events that took place. After the first few pages the book starts off by introducing the family that has the dog Cujo and how Cujo became rabid. Especially after reading the page about Cujo’s encounter with Gary Pevier (veteran WWII soldier) I sighed and wondered if it was possible to get another book. The book eventually started to speed up and upcoming events in the book would gain my interest.
By page forty I had known that the wife was undergoing an affair with a loser called Steve Kemp and Vic was going off to New York because of this new brand of cereal called Zinger (aka the box of blood) that was killing kids. The freight I spoke of in the first paragraph started to come back and with that my interest in the book. Immediately after Vic’s meeting with his partner Roger Cujo attacked a group of mechanics that were placing something at the farm. After reading this I finally experienced what others mentioned when explaining his stories.
In conclusion, I hope the intensity and horror in the book continues because this will keep my interest unlike the beginning of the book, which was filled with boring events that I thought, was unnecessary. As the book continued my excitement grew and I realized that those events in the book, which I called boring, was a set up or foundation for the rest of the book.
A couple of days later I picked up the book read a few pages from where I started and my excitement and expectations for the book were dwindling. My expectations started dwindling as I read each page because of the tediousness and events that took place. After the first few pages the book starts off by introducing the family that has the dog Cujo and how Cujo became rabid. Especially after reading the page about Cujo’s encounter with Gary Pevier (veteran WWII soldier) I sighed and wondered if it was possible to get another book. The book eventually started to speed up and upcoming events in the book would gain my interest.
By page forty I had known that the wife was undergoing an affair with a loser called Steve Kemp and Vic was going off to New York because of this new brand of cereal called Zinger (aka the box of blood) that was killing kids. The freight I spoke of in the first paragraph started to come back and with that my interest in the book. Immediately after Vic’s meeting with his partner Roger Cujo attacked a group of mechanics that were placing something at the farm. After reading this I finally experienced what others mentioned when explaining his stories.
In conclusion, I hope the intensity and horror in the book continues because this will keep my interest unlike the beginning of the book, which was filled with boring events that I thought, was unnecessary. As the book continued my excitement grew and I realized that those events in the book, which I called boring, was a set up or foundation for the rest of the book.
Monday, November 3, 2008
Blog on studying
3.) Is what you learn at school really connected with your life?
No, what you learn at school isn't in any way connected to your life but school is connected to your life.What you learn in School is like similar to a job where you attend, work and leave. What you learn at your job has nothing to do with your actual life unless your job is your life. At University I have 6 classes in everyone of them I don't learn one thing that connects with my life. Any student can go through their everyday schedule and reflect back on what they learned and notice it doesn't connect anyway to their personal, physical or spiritual life.
When I refer to personal life they usually are referring to live at home or events that connect to school. Now if I took a few of my classes such as algebra, ancient Greece and chemistry then compared them to the things I learn at home it would not compare. At my house I learn cooking skills and many of life lessons that would not ever be taught in a classroom. While sitting in chemistry I learn useless material that won't connect to my life. This is the same for physical and your spiritual life. Because what people learn in school does not connect to our life its brings up questions like why do you go to school. Many teenagers my age believe that the only reason they attend school is because their parents force them to learn but there are more reasons than that.
From interviews, written essays and listening to adults I have come noticed that what you learn in school is useless but the outcome of succeeding in those classes and knowing the useless information to the best of your ability benefits in the end. In the end you will be able to go to college or receive a job and so on. The opposite side of all this is that some people drop out because they think what they learned in school didn't connect to their life and I have commonly heard from these people "I wished I would have finished high school or college." I noticed after listening to people say this constantly that they don't want to attend,work and leave because what they learn at the school is connected to their life but because of the benefits you receive from it in the end.
To conclude, what students learn in school does not connect to their life in any way wither it is personal, physical or spiritual. If I took one of my classes and compared the lessons you could tell that how many electrons in a hydrogen molecule is not going to help me in life. Lastly, high school drop-outs, college drop-outs and people who have made it through both can agree to the fact that what you learn in school does not compare to life. The only reason they attended school or wanted to re-attend was because the benefits or outcome of it all.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Declaration Pre-write blog
Why is it hard to get people to recognize that they’ve been treating you unfairly?
We as humans have been thinking differently about how the world turns and what controls it since the beginning of time. Because of this humans have branched off to form different groups of religion, mathematics and so on. One of the most grueling examples is slavery in America during the 1800s-1900s. Slavery divided people of the North and the South, which caused destruction in America. The people of the south had opinions that were fiendish and evil. Ministers and teachers taught the southern people that slavery was righteous and used the bible as a tool to help aid or convince the people. During that time period people that have different ideas about one strong topic and that is one of the reasons why others don't recognize they are treating you unfairly and slavery was an example. The other two reasons are that your idea doesn’t concern the person and there opinion might suite them better.
One reason others don’t notice they are treating you unfairly is because it doesn’t concern them and I witnessed this first hand throughout my middle school career. In my middle school we had these debates weekly about topics on what we were reading and some current events. Each debate you would pick a partner and critique on five rules. One of these rules was to avoid monopolizing the whole debate and giving other people chances to talk. During the debate we always had one person monopolize and it became much of an ordeal one day we debated about monopolizing. Well after my school year was over I finally came to the realization that our ideas didn’t concern these people who were monopolizing.
The second reason people don’t notice is because there opinion suites them better. For example, a country needs help from another country because they are in war against rebels. The country that has been asked for help ignores the people because it would suite them better to stay neutral in the war. Politics in American society is a prime example of this and especially the campaign this year. This year and politics has been an interesting one because of the economy and people’s reactions. The economy has made people republicans change there pick for president based on what suites them better. While watching the television yesterday a lady was interviewing a republican about his reason for voting for Barrack Obama. The man said it plain in simple “this man is working for the middle class in my opinion.”
In conclusion it is hard to convince people that you are being treated unfairly because people think differently, your idea doesn’t concern them and there opinion might suite them better. We have seen and still see today people doing this and people have been treated unfairly since slavery. This also related to my middle school where people would monopolize our debates. Finally this related to American politics and how people changed there pick for the candidates because of the economy.
We as humans have been thinking differently about how the world turns and what controls it since the beginning of time. Because of this humans have branched off to form different groups of religion, mathematics and so on. One of the most grueling examples is slavery in America during the 1800s-1900s. Slavery divided people of the North and the South, which caused destruction in America. The people of the south had opinions that were fiendish and evil. Ministers and teachers taught the southern people that slavery was righteous and used the bible as a tool to help aid or convince the people. During that time period people that have different ideas about one strong topic and that is one of the reasons why others don't recognize they are treating you unfairly and slavery was an example. The other two reasons are that your idea doesn’t concern the person and there opinion might suite them better.
One reason others don’t notice they are treating you unfairly is because it doesn’t concern them and I witnessed this first hand throughout my middle school career. In my middle school we had these debates weekly about topics on what we were reading and some current events. Each debate you would pick a partner and critique on five rules. One of these rules was to avoid monopolizing the whole debate and giving other people chances to talk. During the debate we always had one person monopolize and it became much of an ordeal one day we debated about monopolizing. Well after my school year was over I finally came to the realization that our ideas didn’t concern these people who were monopolizing.
The second reason people don’t notice is because there opinion suites them better. For example, a country needs help from another country because they are in war against rebels. The country that has been asked for help ignores the people because it would suite them better to stay neutral in the war. Politics in American society is a prime example of this and especially the campaign this year. This year and politics has been an interesting one because of the economy and people’s reactions. The economy has made people republicans change there pick for president based on what suites them better. While watching the television yesterday a lady was interviewing a republican about his reason for voting for Barrack Obama. The man said it plain in simple “this man is working for the middle class in my opinion.”
In conclusion it is hard to convince people that you are being treated unfairly because people think differently, your idea doesn’t concern them and there opinion might suite them better. We have seen and still see today people doing this and people have been treated unfairly since slavery. This also related to my middle school where people would monopolize our debates. Finally this related to American politics and how people changed there pick for the candidates because of the economy.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Super Size Me
Super Size set all the rumors, questions, and ideas about the American society and Mc Donald’s Straight. When I first watched this documentary I learned so much about my health and how unhealthy food can harm your body. When I first saw this movie I was 12 years old. I can remember sitting down and watching this movie with my intermediate family. We watched the movie numerous times and each time I was amazed. It has always been interesting to compare what you thought about a movie or book when you were young and then compare it to what you think in the present. This was the case for me because when my I first saw this movie I thought it was about bashing Mc Donald’s and their horrible food. After I watched the movie at the age of 12 I’d go around telling all my friends that their salads are disgusting and I was kind of like an anti-fast food eater. In a way this affected my friends, family and myself. It first affected my friends and extended family because when I spent the night over their houses I declined to eat anything associated with fast food. My friends and family thought I was crazy and it was unusual for younger children to decline fast food. After watching this movie in great books for the last time the concept of the movie had changed and I realized something different. I realized what Tocqueville wrote about in the why Americans are restless.
Overall the movie was informative and if I were a movie critic I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The movie didn’t only make me realize and open my eyes to different lifestyles but showed me that Americans are restless. It made me realize Americans are restless and fast food companies are a prime example of us wanting better, faster and bigger.
Overall the movie was informative and if I were a movie critic I would give it a 4.5 out of 5 stars. The movie didn’t only make me realize and open my eyes to different lifestyles but showed me that Americans are restless. It made me realize Americans are restless and fast food companies are a prime example of us wanting better, faster and bigger.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Why American Restless Blog
Is American Society Competitive?
Yes, American society is too competitive and in every aspect. The American Society is competitive because we try to uphold various standards and it makes life and us in this society difficult. We can tell that American society is too competitive when you have a parent’s children or child being forced into stardom or expected to live up to their own parent’s standards. Personally, I think the two things that make American society competitive are school and parents.
Schools make American society competitive because students are expected to uphold their parents, families and the school they attend expectations. Besides the fact that Schools make society competitive they are competitive within their self. The three main things that make them competitive are sports, classmates, and grades. These three have one thing in common and it is pressure to do well. You receive pressure from all three but it comes from different people. For example, if you are in a sport you receive pressure from your parents, coach and people that are also attending the sport. Ultimately this pressure can overcome you and cause problems. This was the case for a senior in high school on the MTV show True Life. Towards the last month of his senior he was getting pressure heavily from his parents about keeping up his grades in school. He was so overwhelmed that he chooses to slack off and entertain his-self in the last view weeks of school. This is just some reasons and example of how school is competitive and makes society competitive.
Parents or adults are a reason why society is competitive because they are society.
Even though parents are society there are different ways they make it competitive. One of the most known ways parents make society competitive is by pushing their child to become a star in the entertainment, acting or model industry. There is so much emphasis and money spent on this idea. When I was watching the television show Maury they did a special on moms and pageant daughters. Throughout the whole episode I remember continuously seeing pressure being put on these three to twelve year old children by their parents. Not only would the parents expect their daughters to win these pageants but they would also spend ten thousand dollars and more so that they could win a medal or award. Another way parents or adults make society competitive is on the job scene. In some jobs it is a friendly environment but in others that is a different case. Sometimes these unfriendly environments are a cause of people trying to edge to the top and it can lead to some issues within the work place.
In conclusion, there are two reasons why American society is too competitive. These two reasons are school and parents. In school children and teenagers are overwhelmed by pressure everyday, which adds to the competitiveness of society. They receive pressure either from there different people depending if they are in a sport. The second reason are parents who but pressure on their children to become child stars and who make the work scene competitive and ultimately unfriendly. In the end by making things competitive it forces our neighbors, friends and family to do the same.
Schools make American society competitive because students are expected to uphold their parents, families and the school they attend expectations. Besides the fact that Schools make society competitive they are competitive within their self. The three main things that make them competitive are sports, classmates, and grades. These three have one thing in common and it is pressure to do well. You receive pressure from all three but it comes from different people. For example, if you are in a sport you receive pressure from your parents, coach and people that are also attending the sport. Ultimately this pressure can overcome you and cause problems. This was the case for a senior in high school on the MTV show True Life. Towards the last month of his senior he was getting pressure heavily from his parents about keeping up his grades in school. He was so overwhelmed that he chooses to slack off and entertain his-self in the last view weeks of school. This is just some reasons and example of how school is competitive and makes society competitive.
Parents or adults are a reason why society is competitive because they are society.
Even though parents are society there are different ways they make it competitive. One of the most known ways parents make society competitive is by pushing their child to become a star in the entertainment, acting or model industry. There is so much emphasis and money spent on this idea. When I was watching the television show Maury they did a special on moms and pageant daughters. Throughout the whole episode I remember continuously seeing pressure being put on these three to twelve year old children by their parents. Not only would the parents expect their daughters to win these pageants but they would also spend ten thousand dollars and more so that they could win a medal or award. Another way parents or adults make society competitive is on the job scene. In some jobs it is a friendly environment but in others that is a different case. Sometimes these unfriendly environments are a cause of people trying to edge to the top and it can lead to some issues within the work place.
In conclusion, there are two reasons why American society is too competitive. These two reasons are school and parents. In school children and teenagers are overwhelmed by pressure everyday, which adds to the competitiveness of society. They receive pressure either from there different people depending if they are in a sport. The second reason are parents who but pressure on their children to become child stars and who make the work scene competitive and ultimately unfriendly. In the end by making things competitive it forces our neighbors, friends and family to do the same.
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