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.
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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. |
Caroline
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