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Bahadur, Nina. “7 Things To Know If You Think Women Are Equal To Men.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 10 Sept. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/7-facts-that-show-women-still-arent-equal_us_55db334be4b08cd3359c8e5a.
Carvell, Erica. "Women May Lose Gains in Government Under the Trump Administration." Opposing Viewpoints Online Collection, Gale, 2017. Opposing Viewpoints in Context, libdb.dccc.edu/login?url=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/OJKJRG865067909/OVIC?u=pa_de_ccc&xid=2e075687. Accessed 22 Nov. 2017. Originally published as "In National Security and Foreign Policy, What Do American Women Have to Lose?" New America, 13 Oct. 2016. Moore, Michael, director. Where to Invade Next . Www.gomovies.com/WheretoInvadeNext, Neon, 2015, gomovies.pet/film/where-to-invade-next-11674/watching.html?ep=752062. “The Real Impact of a Female President? More Women in Politics.” Public Radio International, www.pri.org/stories/2016-10-24/real-impact-female-president-more-women-politics. Ware, Susan. "Roosevelt, Eleanor." The Reader's Companion to American History, edited by Eric Foner, and John Arthur Garraty, Houghton Mifflin, 1st edition, 2014. Credo Reference, https://libdb.dccc.edu/login?url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/rcah/roosevelt_eleanor/0?institutionId=5109. Accessed 23 Nov 2017. After watching Where To Invade Next, there are several topics regarding politics, education, and civility in the United States that I will be exploring in hopes to further a topic into a research paper. A summary of the movie can be found in my last blog post, blog post #9.
Topic: Sexual Education in the United States Research Question: Should the U.S. update their sexual education classes in their secondary schools? Argument: In the United States, sexual education has an emphasis of abstinence. In countries such as France, it is understood that abstinence cannot be a trusted safe practice and contraception should make student's less uncomfortable. In the U.S., sexual education is very old school and has religious undertones of premarital sex is unexpected because of it being deemed a sin. In the modern day, more teenagers are having sex at a younger age and are less comfortable with telling their parents or doctors about their sexual activity because of its negative baggage. In France, sex is not seen as a forbidden practice for younger people and have less teen pregnancies than the U.S. If the U.S. followed in France's sexual education, more students would be more comfortable with contraception and information from parents or doctors. Topic: No undergraduate debt Research Question: Should the United States cover undergraduate school? Argument: The idea of all undergraduates going to college for free is unrealistic and devastating for the United States. If the students do not pay for their tuition, the universities would have to depend on the government. Our government in the United States is already limited in spending and in debt. The country is large and populous which results in a large amount of colleges and universities which would not acquire adequate spending. The institutions would suffer especially if more students attend because of the absence of cost. The countries that have accomplished no undergraduate debt like Slovenia and Scotland have a dirty secret. They panhandle and accept immense charities from surrounding countries. If every country nearby Slovenia and Scotland followed in their footsteps they would have to get rid of their policy because colleges and universities would go bankrupt. Also, the idea of free college stems from less fortunate students who cannot afford the tuition costs. Although, like in other countries, colleges and universities that usually attain these students could not afford to give them the proper education because of the lack of money the government could give. Free college would be a burden to the United States and citizens would not benefit. Topic: Women in Leadership Research Topic: Would women in leadership positions benefit the United States. Argument: The United States has never had a woman president which has never allowed women to have a representative of their biological understanding. I believe the United States would benefit from a woman as president because topics such as abortion and prenatal care could be assessed by a woman who truly understands the meaning. Men I do not believe can truly fathom the idea of being a woman which also strings along pregnancy and contraception such as birth control. It would not matter if the woman was pro-life or pro-choice, but female citizens may feel more comfortable in her opinion and believe they have a voice. A woman in power would create a positive difference for the United States and a greater sense of equality. In the documentary Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore scrutinizes American policies and traditions and compares them to other countries. He travels to Italy, Finland, Slovenia, Germany, Portugal, Norway, Tunisia, and Iceland where he "takes" successful tactics the countries have applied to their education, welfare, etc to inform viewers of the new ways the United States can approve. In Italy he address the idea of the working and labor conditions in the U.S. and how Italy's mindset of a workers health being valued more than a profit should be applied. Next in France, school meals were deemed healthier and were made more carefully. Also, sexual education did not carry an emphasis of abstinence like it does in the U.S., but French sexual education teaches teenagers safe practice. Moore suggests this cold help the high teen pregnancy rates in the U.S. Slovenia undergraduate students are not burdened with the debt of their schooling like in the United States. Moore ridicules the importance of college and the high cost of tuition. He believes more citizens would benefit from free college and is evident to be necessary for a future in America. Like Germany, the United States has an embarrassing and harsh history but their students exposure to the material differs in the two countries. Germany does not try to cover the Holocaust and Hitler, but it is taught to its fullest extent in school because the history of the country is very important to them. Without discussing and analyzing past decisions and actions of elites may cause history to repeat in some ways. In the United States, topics such as slavery are discussed but details are hidden to shield the students. Moore believes a more realistic education of huge topics such as history may prevent history from repeating such as the constant hate crimes committed in America. Then, Moore traveled to Portugal to scrutinize their universal healthcare and abolition of the death penalty. Universal healthcare is heavily debated in the U.S. but Portugal has benefited from this policy and their citizens are some of the healthiest. Norway's prison system was also explored by Moore which treated their prisoners more humanely than the United States and rehabilitation is more important than punishment. Lastly, Moore visited Tunisia and Iceland where women have more equality and rights. In Tunisia, women have the right to abortion and prenatal care is more accessible. Women have a right to choose and to their body than in the U.S. In Iceland, more women are leaders than in the U.S. which prevents male bias and a larger representative to women. Women in the United States have only experienced male presidents which are considered their representatives, but can never understand topics such as female contraception, prenatal care, and abortion. In conclusion, Moore traveled to several countries to debate the legitimacy of the American dream and new ideas for progress in large debated topics in the United States.
For the past couple of weeks I have been super busy in my high school. From preparing and rehearsing for my drama group's production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, applying to college, to working extremely hard in my classes in RHS as the marking period was ending, and helping my boyfriend get ready for basic training for the army; I have struggled with time management.
I am a part of the Ridley Drama Group and hold a leadership position of International Thespian Society Officer. We opened our production of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying on Friday (11/10) at 7:30 and performed once more on Sunday (11/12) at 3 o'clock. We had a great run, but was only possible with rehearsals that extended to 11 at night a few days of the week and an extensive time commitment regarding my leadership position. I juggled paperwork, presents, parties, memorization of lines and choreography, and helping with the makeup and hair for the ensemble. I struggled to balance this extra curricular activity and my school work as my director is very passionate and not flexible with our personal schedules. The show will end this Sunday after a weekend run and I am very sad, but relieved to start working on school work again with full effort. If you live near Ridley High School and enjoy theatre, come see the show this weekend! I am a senior in high school, so I have been flooded with applications and paperwork. I have applied to Syracuse University, Pennsylvania State University, Kutztown University, East Stroudsburg University, and the University of Pittsburgh which required me to fill out five separate applications. My work in high school seems to be paying off as I have been accepted to the University of Pittsburgh and Kutztown University already. I am anxiously waiting to hear back from the rest, especially Penn State and Syracuse because they are my top schools. I just attended Penn State's homecoming with my boyfriend and his family which deepened my desire to go. Last week, the marking period for my high school classes ended which was extremely stressful. My AP Government and Politics class had tests very close to the end as my teacher began to cram and I became sick from the lack of sleep near the end of last week. Now that we have entered a new marking period, I am back on my feet and beginning to become less stressed. Today, my boyfriend left for basic training in the army so for the past couple of weeks, I have taken any free time to help him get ready and attend several parties and going away dinners. We were both very sad, yet excited for him to start this next stage of his life as he prepares for his aspired career. My life is calming down and I am determined to start working hard again in my academics, but there are times where I have to put my social life first. My senior year has started off great and I will power through senioritis to get my stuff done. In my life-choice memoir I used reflective writing and description. I watched the video on reflective writing to enhance my skills and to use less description which I hope to use in later drafts. My first draft contains several scenes, but I would like to include more for a better visual representation of my life choice. I am struggling with the concept of "show not tell" in my writing because I rather explain facts than write creatively. The video has given more insight of how to improve my narrative process as a writer.
My parents have always allowed me to make my own beliefs and never restricted me from becoming who I am. I am very similar to my father as we think similarly and tend to have the same views on certain topics. At a young age I lost my faith and realized that I do not believe in God or the Holy Bible. To my grandparents, this is immoral and basically grants me a one-way ticket to Hell. I do not attend church or receive communion out of respect for those who cherish their Catholic religion and not rebellion which they assume. I know this will prompt a difficult conversation when I get married because I do not want a ceremony in a church. I do have an open mind however and if I begin to believe again, I will embrace that.
I believe the woman does keep the baby and does not follow through with the abortion. As the man and woman contemplate their future together, the woman is has a very passive aggressive tone and tends to discourage the man's attempts to persuade her. Also, Ernest Hemingway uses symbolism to represent life, like the grain and water the couple can see from the station. Also, Hemingway uses motifs to represent the connection between a mother and child like the number two. Also, I believe the woman does not stay with the man. She questions their future if she goes through with the operation, asking if he would love her and be happy. By doing so, she seems to ridicule his feelings toward her now as her pregnancy should not be considered a liability to their relationship. Near the end, she tends to say that she doesn't care about herself and only wants to make the man happy which can be referred as her seeking for his attention and approval. He does not comply and she asks for the conversation to end as it seems she has made her decision about the baby, not considering his beliefs. In my life, I struggle getting along with my family on my mom's side as my personality and beliefs are very conflicting with theirs. My dad does not like like my mom's family as they are extremely disrespectful and hold on to family traditions too tightly with expectations that are constricting. I am very similar to my dad and he is one of my favorite people and to see him at a young age arguing with my family members was very conflicting. As I got older, I began to be questioned more about my faith, education, love, etc. and they became very harsh and rude if it did not match their expectations. If I live by my family standards (although I am saying family, it is mostly my grandparents), I realized I would not be happy. I am very independent and strong with a drive to learn. I am interested in law and politics which was very confusing for them as most women in my family are expected to become teachers. I made the decision last year to distance myself from my grandparents and my parents were very proud of my decision. We held our own Christmas parties, Thanksgiving, birthdays, and other events that we used to spend with them. I am at a point in my life where I am making several life changing decisions regarding my future and hearing their negative, restricting advice was detrimental to my happiness. I hope to reconnect with them in the near future once I have my plans established.
I do agree with the family's choice to deceive Wang's grandmother because it was beneficial and her grandmother did the same thing to her husband. Although it was a risk that her grandmother may not receive the help she needs, not knowing the news and experiencing joy with her family seemed to work just as well. Especially at her older age, the grandmother may not have been able to handle the treatments and her final days may have been miserable without family. Also, clearly the grandmother would understand the family's decision because she made the same one not to long ago for her husband which worked as well. I would not agree with the decision if the grandmother was younger, if she clearly was affected by the cancer, and did not make the same decision in the past. Also, judging by the Chinese culture that mental and physical health are linked and joy is considered a treatments, the decision even respected the grandmother's culture instead of forcing the American culture on her. If I was in the grandmother's situation, I do not believe I would want to know about my cancer especially if it was not affecting me yet. I think I would psyche myself into having the affects of cancer and would benefit from being ignorant. I also would not want to spend my final months in a hospital, suffering through treatment when I could be with family and living life to the fullest.
I do agree with Margaret's decision to break the casserole dish and two green glass cups because she stood up for what means a lot to her by breaking something that meant a lot to Mrs. Cullinan. Margaret's name is her self identity which she cherishes and becomes infuriated with Mrs. Cullinan when she shortens it to Mary to save time. Mrs. Cullinan was too ignorant and racist to understand Margaret's disapproval of her new nickname. After being a servant for a short while, Margaret discovered Mrs. Cullinan's love for the casserole dish and two green cups. By breaking the dishes, she was breaking Mrs. Cullinan's power and superiority. It was a very meaningful message that I believe was necessary. Before the discussion in class, I first responded that I have never been oppressed as a white female. I have never experienced racism and being a female has never restricted me from an opportunity. Although, I have been oppressed by my family regarding my religion. My parents were raised Roman Catholic, with my mom having a stronger faith than my father. Most of my family on my dad's side is deceased, so he lost his enthusiasm for going to church. My mom has a lot of family on her side with both of her parents being alive, several aunts and uncles, and four brothers; all being Catholic. I have been raised Catholic, but have never been forced to go to church. I attended CCD where I received my first communion involuntarily and made the decision not to be confirmed. My grandparents were very disappointed with me, but even more once my parents pulled my little brother out of the program as he did not want to attend without me. Although a teenager, my grandparents have been planning my wedding, my children's names, my children's baptism and everything else I should not be considering at my age. I lost faith once I entered high school which some blame my age for which is understandable. I do not believe in the Bible or most of what the Catholic religion preaches, but I believe in an afterlife and higher being. I believe I only have this belief to stay sane and not as fearful of death. I am one of the first family members on my mom side who does not cherish the Catholic religion which will be a huge dispute as I grow older and consider events such as my wedding. |
Caroline
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