A Positive Outlook On The Future of Teaching

Hello again! To start off one of my last blog posts, I am going to react to an article that I stumbled upon online. Throughout all of my research on teaching, this article made me walk away feeling content about the state of this profession. The article I read was titled “More People With Higher SAT Scores Are Going Into Teaching, Says Study”, and if that doesn’t get you excited then I don’t know what does.

Most of the articles that I have discussed have had somewhat of a negative connotation to them. However, this article discusses the incline of competition and ability in order to become a teacher. These changes are resulting in a higher prestige in the viewpoint of teachers, especially in the state of New York. Not only has teaching become more competitive, requiring higher SAT scores in order to obtain a teaching degree, but people in New York are viewing the profession at a higher level. This is such great progress to the teaching world because not only is there more people interested in teaching, but now there will be more educated teachers able to teach a much larger range of students in need.

This change is a strong step in the right direction for the world. Our children's/future generation’s educators becoming more educated, therefore resulting in an overall more intelligent world. Who knows what is going to come out of that. We will just have to wait and see what these future adults are going to accomplish. All thanks to their teachers helping them along the way.

-Jenna

Klein, Rebecca. "More People With Higher SAT Scores Are Going Into Teaching, Says Study." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 01 Nov. 2016.

Prompted Post #7: Abortion

To this day, political science has a variety of different definitions associated with it, it just depends on the person you ask that day. According to the Oxford Dictionary though, it’s defined as the branch of knowledge that deals with the state and systems of government; the scientific analysis of political activity and behavior. I know that’s a mouthful so we’ll just say that political science deals with the government and everything that surrounds that.

One word that can always be used to describe this field is controversial, especially when it comes to the policies of the ideological parties that run the government. There are always people that will either love or hate each issue, and one is abortion. The two stances on this issue are pro-life and pro-choice. In this blog, I will lay down the facts of each stance and explain why it’s controversial. Which side you pick is ultimately up to you.

Pro-Life

• believe that the government has an obligation to preserve all human life, regardless of intent, viability or quality-of-life concerns
• the pro-life ethic is considered to be conservative
• one quote: "even a non-viable, undeveloped human life is sacred and must be protected by the government"
• believes that all life is equal in its right to exist
• A new individual human being begins at fertilization, when the sperm and ovum meet to form a single cell

Pro-Choice

• believe that humans have unlimited autonomy with respect to their own reproductive systems, as long as they don't breach the autonomy of others
• a comprehensive pro-choice position asserts that all of the following must remain legal: celibacy/abstinence & contraception
• Federal Abortion Ban: abortion becomes illegal in the second trimester of pregnancy
• individual states have their own laws
• the pro-choice ethic is considered to be liberal
• varied views on when a fetus becomes a human life

Controversial

These two issues are completely opposite of each other, and that's where the debate comes from. People are divided when it comes to: When does a human life start? Is it right? The stance you take deals with your morals and religion could come into play too. This is a very controversial, yet personal topic but there's one point at where both sides agree with each other.

The pro-life and pro-choice movements overlap to an extent in that they share the goal of reducing the number of abortions. They differ with respect to degree and methodology. 

Conclusion

This is a very big, controversial and personal topic that people get really heated about. Whatever stance you take, it's important that you know the facts that each side has to offer so you know that in the end, you are making an informed decision.

-Riley

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Sources:

NARAL. "Anti-Choice Statements - Pro-Choice Responses :: NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin." Anti-Choice Statements - Pro-Choice Responses :: NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

National Right to Life. "When Does Life Begin? | National Right to Life." National Right to Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

"Political Science - Definition of Political Science in English | Oxford Dictionaries." Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford Dictionaries, n.d. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

"What Pro-Life vs. Pro-Choice Supporters Believe." About.com News & Issues. N.p., 13 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Oct. 2016.

It's The Little Things That Matter Most

Going into eleventh grade, I had nothing to do for the summer. After months of debating, I decided to start working at Camp Ramah Day Camp in Nyack New York a year earlier than most staff. In other words, I would be one of few staff that do not live at camp because I was a year too young. I would be doing it with one of my best friends so it was a good plan knowing I would work at the camp the next summer as well to live there with my friends. After being hired, I expected to work with younger kids as I had coached the assistant director's son in a basketball mini camp for three to five year olds. A few weeks before the start of the summer, I received an interesting phone call. It was the assistant director, asking me to be a shadow for a boy with special needs. I would function as a normal councilor in the bunk however I would provide special attention to the at the time six year old Jake. After about of week of deciding what to do and talking it over with my mom, I decided to be the shadow for the boy. I had no idea that this decision would make my summer as amazing as it was.

The camp never really told me what was wrong with the boy, and I still am unsure until this day. Camp began and as the weeks went on, the other boys began to realize that he had some issues. Obviously at six years old they had no idea why he took so long to change after swim or why he walked slowly or wasn't very good at sports. However they still included him in everything they did.

The one thing that always bothered this boy was that he could never put his socks on. I would always have to do it for him and it would frustrate him to no end. Everyday we would work at it and by the end of the summer, he was able to do it by himself. At the time I had no idea what I was doing. I was just a sixteen year old boy trying to take care of kids with no prior experience, but this seemed like the normal thing to do. At the end of the summer I got a letter from the boy. In the envelope was a picture he a drawn, as well as a note from his mom. In the note she thanked me being his shadow for the summer going on about how he loved camp, the usual note from a parent. At the end of the letter she told me that the boy was now able to put his socks on by himself it had changed his life. He was so proud that he could do it by himself that he would yell at anyone for even trying to help him. This and that summer taught me that its the little things that make the big differences. I learned very quickly that not only do you impact your campers, but your campers impact you for the rest of your life.

- Eric

My Life As a Teacher

There’s no better way to see through the eyes of a professional than to immerse yourself into their job itself. This is exactly what I did my senior year of highschool. My high school gives all of their seniors an opportunity to take the last month off of school to pursue an interest in an internship or an individual project. Throughout the whole course of the year there is an extensive application process to whether or not you will be allowed to go on Senior Project. For my project, a friend and I decided to go back to where we attended kindergarten and teach under a young teacher.

We worked in the classroom every morning from 8-12. Kindergarten is only held for half days at this elementary school, so my friend Olivia and I worked with the morning class and then went back to school to go to our AP classes. In these 4 hours we spent in the classroom 5 days a week, so much occurred. For the short amount of time the students had to be there, there was a lot accomplished. Every minute of the day was meticulously calculated to satisfy their learning needs and even more importantly their needs for breaks.

Each one of the students learned at a different speed so having multiple adults in the room was very helpful and it quickened the pace of the lessons. In the short month Olivia and I spent in the classroom we made very close bonds with each of the 20 students. We did everything from help them do school work, to teach lessons, to eat snacks with them, to play tag out on the playground. When the month was over, we were extremely sad to go, but not as sad as the kids. Some of them cried but most of them just pouted.

Overall, the entire classroom experience was amazing. I learned so much from just being in a kindergarten classroom then I ever would have researching on the internet. This experience showed me that if I am interested in something then I needed to go out and pursue it. Senior Project opened my eyes to a potential future profession of mine that I still hold to a very high regard today.

-Jenna

Gay Republicans Explain Why They Are Proudly Supporting Donald Trump

After reading the title, you might think that it probably sounds like the beginning of a fake article, but I assure you it’s not. It’s just an oxymoron, according to society’s views.

We don’t usually see the words “Gay Republican” right next to each other, because liberal policy tends to be more inclusive of the LGBTQ community while conservatives have clung to traditional values. But like everything else in the world, the Republican views are evolving, slowly but surely.

During the Republican National Convention, billionaire and PayPal co-founder, Peter Thiel, became the first openly gay speaker that the convention has ever had. Thiel sums up his stance by saying, “Every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican.” He followed that up by donating $1.25 million to Trump’s campaign.

While on the topic of the RNC, it would be crucial to also add that Trump is the first GOP presidential nominee to positively refer to the gay community in a convention acceptance speech. This fact alone earned Trump some points within this community.

You can like Trump or not, that’s up to you, but these two events that occurred at the RNC this past July, are historical. Forget for a moment the candidates, just notice that the Republican Party, is making progressive steps forward.

This article also talks about Juan Hernandez, a gay Hispanic that is pro-Trump. Based on the media outlets and the scandals in the past year, one might ask themselves how this is possible?

Hernandez goes on to explain how Trump is “the most inclusive presidential candidate that we’ve had in the Republican Party.” Even though Hernandez knows who he’s voting for, that doesn’t mean he’s safe. Hernandez is even scared to put a Trump sign in his yard. He’s cited that he’s been physically attacked for supporting Trump, and more than that, he knows of closeted Trump supporters that are just too scared of the violence to publicly acknowledge their political stance.

That last sentence was scary. Nobody should be attacked for who they believe in, it’s a free country right? Maybe that’s why we don’t hear a lot about this group in the media, not because it is a small fraction of people, but because some gay republicans are too scared to speak out in fear of retaliation of going against the standard view of an LGBTQ member.

I found this article very interesting because this group is a minority that people don’t really see and I think it’s important for them to be recognized and for people to be informed about them too. It's our right as citizens not to agree with them, or anybody else if we choose to, but everybody's opinions deserve respect.

This post was meant to shine light to a growing minority of people. I'll be the first one to admit that 5 years ago, I didn't even know that gay people could even be republican, now I know that anything is possible. For us to be better informed citizens is important, whether you're a democrat, republican, libertarian, etc., knowledge is key to acceptance and success.

-Riley

________________________________________________________________

Sources:

Chang, Juju, and Marjorie Mcafee. "Gay Republicans Explain Why They Are Proudly Supporting Donald Trump." ABC News. ABC News Network, 23 Oct. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

"Three Latinos Arrested after Armed Stand-off with Man over Trump Yard Sign." Fox News. FOX News Network, 10 Mar. 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Wildermuth, John, and Joe Garofoli. "PayPal's Thiel's Speech Shows Major Shift in GOP on Gays." SFGate. N.p., 22 July 2016. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.

Prompted Post #5: A look into ROTC

There is no better organization related to my field than the one I am actively involved in. As I mentioned in my "Meet the team" post, I am a student cadet in the Army Reserve Officers Training Corporation (ROTC) here at Michigan State. This means that after college, I will be commissioned as an Officer into the United States Army.

Our ROTC program is known as the Spartan Battalion and we are consistently ranked among the top ten programs in the country. This is because all the cadets here are motivated and want to learn. We have physical training every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday at 05:40 as well as a class which can be taken at various times and a lab which meets every Thursday where we learn to become officers in the United States Army. From day one this program was specific about a few things, the most important one being that we represent the United States and we should act accordingly. In other words, we should be respectful, kind, and the best us we can be in order to give off a good impression. People look at us and think one of two thing, we are the Army people playing dress up, or we are in the Army, both of which are false. We are here to learn about being in the Army and to hopefully earn a spot as a second Lieutenant when we graduated as seniors.

Our main source of communication is through email or the MSU Army ROTC website (http://armyrotc.msu.edu/). We are in contact with the school by helping out at different events throughout the year such as the homecoming parade or different sporting events. Every Cadet in the program has one of two goals, to become an officer or to learn what is it like to be in the Army. However all cadets receive the same befits in that they will come out of the program with new leadership skills, life skills and overall people skills that can be used for the rest of our lives.  

- Eric

Prompted Post #6: Teaching is a B-List Job?

Hello again! In this prompted blog post I am going to respond to an article that makes a profound argument about teaching, and use what I have learned thus far to respond to it. I came upon a very interesting article online that was titled: “Why do people view teaching as a ‘B-List’ job?”. In this article, an English teacher, Ilana Garon, discusses her struggle to become a well respected teacher and how it affects her when people underestimate her job. She explains that in the early 20th century, teaching was a very well respected job for women, but now as fields have become more open to women, teaching has taken a step back.

She explains that usually when people ask her what she does for a living, they respond “but you’re smart, what do you really want to do?” and that hurts her because without ‘smart’ teachers, then there wouldn’t be smart students to later send out into the world. Teaching has a stereotype for being a un-smart job, when it reality it should be the opposite.

Typically, Education graduate schools are the easiest to get into. Garon proposes that if the graduate schools for teaching and education were more exclusive and respected, then it would attract the best teachers. I completely agree with her reasoning because from what I have observed,  many students apply to the easiest graduate schools, tending to be education, in order to get an easy acceptance to only transfer to another graduate school.

In the world's top-performing education systems such as South Korea, Singapore, and Finland, 100% of their teachers come from the top third of college graduates. Compared to in America, 23% of teachers come from the top third of college graduates. The reason behind this is because in the top education countries, their citizens view the profession of teaching as very prestigious and hold it to a high regard. Whereas in America, only 66% of teachers agreed with the statement that “I would be proud to tell people I have this job” according to the 2010 McKinsey study.

As you can see, America is one of the few countries in need of over 1 million teachers before the year 2030. This is because not many people want to step up to the plate and hold a profession looked down upon.

Everything that Garon states in her article I completely agree with. Not only is it terrible that people in America hold teaching so such a low regard, but they also don’t understand the impact the teachers have on society. If teaching is frowned upon but you want your child to have a good education, then something needs to give.  

-Jenna

Garon, Ilana. "Why Do People View Teaching as a 'B-list' Job? | Ilana Garon."The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 05 Sept. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

The United Nations is Just Wrong

Israel was voted into existence after years of fighting to exist in 1948. The land was taken from British control and given as a "homeland to the Jewish people." Every since that day, everything Israel has done is challenged by the outside world. They have been attacked by multiple countries on multiple occasion and have had success every time. The only thing Israel really wants is peace in the region and works tirelessly to get. They have even handed over part of their country to try and be fair. However, nobody treats Israel the same way an anybody else.

Three summers ago, Israel was attacked without mersey by the Gaza strip. Hundreds if not thousands of rockets were shot off into Israel and if it wasn't for Israel's "Iron Dome" system which deflects or shoots down rocket fire, thousands would had been killed. These shootings were hardly if at all covered in the media. At some point enough is enough and Israel invaded Gaza to stop the bombings. They played the safest game of war in the world trying to ensure that no civilians were injured. This goal was impossible with Hammas, the terrorist organization which runs Gaza, using their citizens as human shield. The goal of the mission was to destroy the tunnels created by Hammas with their aid money to build schools, in order to prevent illegal transportation into Israel, as well as to eliminate Gaza's rockets funded to them by Iran. Every time Israel would launch an offensive attack, they would call and tell Hammas exactly where they would be and which building would be destroyed. That isn't exactly a way to be effective. However the media still portrayed Israel as the villain taking civilian lives.

This past year their were a plethora of stabbing and shooting attacks in Israel. Whenever the attacker would be taken down, the headline around the world would read, "Israeli police kill Palestinian citizen, four Israelis also Injured." The only time the media got it right is when American citizen Ezra Schwartz was gunned down sitting in a cab minding his own business. Ezra had just graduated high school and was taking a gap-year in Israel. I did not know Ezra personally, however I did meet him in California in the summer of 2013, we were on the same program for the summer, just on different busses. I also have a lot of friends that knew him so as far away as all this commotion seems to most American's, for me it is right next door and being lived by and fought for by some of my friends who decided to join the Israeli Defense Forces after High School.

I am writing about this because this past week, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), voted that Jerusalem is not a holy site to the Jewish people. For starters, everything in the Jewish religion points back toward Jerusalem. The fact that we have Synagogues around the world is because since the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, Jewish people needed a place to perform their rituals because they no longer could get to the Temple. Their is no denying that the Temple existed because the Wailing Wall stills stand and you can go visit it whenever you'd like. There is also no denying that Jerusalem is holy to Islam and Christianity as well. I am not going to go into all the reasons Jerusalem is a holy city for the Jewish people however their are many. My point is that this is just another attack on the Jewish people and the State of Israel. Israel will never be treated equally, however this decision by UNESCO is just wrong and anti-Semitic.

- Eric

All Lives Matter

Every day, we as a community hear stories about police brutality, specifically towards blacks in the media to the point where we become desensitized to it. It has been a catalyst to movements like Black Lives Matter and the Colin Kaepernick protests. But are we seeing the whole story when it comes to police brutality?

What we see on TV, is police attacking blacks but in reality, that’s all the media wants us to see. It’s a biased system because minority deaths generate more outrage.

Here are some statistics:

• According to the Washington Post, in 2015, 50% of the victims of fatal police shootings were white while 26% were black.
• In the first 6 months of 2015, it was reported that 1,502 people have been shot and killed by police officers, 732 were white and 381 were black (382 were of other or unknown race).
• FBI data stated that 40% of cop murderers are black and a police officer is 18.5 times more likely to be murdered by a black person than a cop killing an unarmed black person.
• A 2015 study by a University of California at Davis researcher concluded there was “no relationship” between crime rates by race and racial bias in police killings.  

This just goes to show that there are some things that society doesn't hear about and the purpose of this blog post was not to say that more whites are killed or the Black Lives Matter movements doesn't matter, the purpose of this post is to show that all lives matter. Yes, there have been horrific crimes against black people in the news and the officers deserved to be punished but that's not my focus with this.

We have to understand that all races are targets, and the treatment in these situations needs to be better. To be able to change the brutality that's taking place right now, all races, genders, ethnicities, etc., need to come together and work together for the problem to be solved and that's what's important here.

-Riley

Sources:

Bandler, Aaron. "5 Statistics You Need To Know About Cops Killing Blacks." Daily Wire. N.p., 07 July 2016. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Lowery, Wesley. "Aren't More White People than Black People Killed by Police? Yes, but No." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 11 July 2015. Web. 16 Oct. 2016.

Chicago Public School Salary Issues

Welcome back! This week I am going to discuss a problem that hits home for me, because it has to do about the city I live in. I am from Chicago and live 20 minutes North of the city. The Chicago Public School District or CPS is very well known for the underpaying of their staff and faculty. To make matters worse, the total enrollment number has declined by 3,000 in the past year. The reason why this reduction is so detrimental is because CPS uses a per-pupil funding system which allocates the most funding to schools with the most students.

In total, the CPS holds around 400,000 students all across the Chicagoland area, all split up into different areas of the city. A recent problem that mayor Rahm Emanuel (pictured above) has dealt with is the gang violence he faced when he merged two schools in order to produce more funding. These schools each held students associated with rival gangs, and the backlash from the merge was fatal for many students and a couple of teachers.

The City of Chicago has fluctuated from bad to good to worse crime rates, in direct correlation with poverty rates. On average, a CPS teacher makes between $49,200-$65,071 a year not including bonuses and benefits. The ASPE or the Office of The Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation has concluded that to be considered below the poverty line in a household of 4 (an average family size most teachers will fall into), the primary caregiver has to be making above $24,300. This might seem like a much smaller number compared to an average salary of a CPS teacher, but in reality it really isn't. This salary is essentially paying for the bare minimum, the necessities of life: food, water, shelter, and clothing. The salary for CPS teachers does make double that, but in in reality it isn’t really cutting it in this day in age.

CPS teachers last year went on strike in order to improve their salary for almost 2 weeks. Rahm Emanuel scrambled to find the funding and eventually brought school back in session. Almost a half a million students were out of school for 2 weeks, just because their teachers weren’t being compensated properly. Teachers are too taken for granted and CPS teachers finally got the courage to stand up for themselves to be recognized as important figures to the public eye.

-Jenna

Sources:

"Crime in Chicago." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Chicago Tribune Reporter. "CPS Releases Enrollment Numbers for Its Schools." Tribunedigital-chicagotribune. N.p., 24 Sept. 2013. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

"Poverty Guidelines." ASPE. N.p., 22 July 2016. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

Salary.com, Site Built By:. "Public School Teacher Salaries in Chicago, Illinois."Public School Teacher Salaries in Chicago, IL by Education, Experience, Location and More. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

What is Wrong with Media?

CNN, one of the most viewed news websites in the world has this as their headline when you bring up their website:

What they are referring to is a sexist tape of a private conversation from 2005 Trump had as well as other conversations he allegedly had about other women such as his daughter. Personally I feel what he said over a decade ago in private conversations should not be relevant in this election. In fact, nobody should ever be held responsible for something they say in a private conversation. If every conversation anyone has ever had became public, I am certain nobody would have any friends in the world. We all say things just to say them or joke around, or maybe because thats just the mood we are in, however it does not mean that is how we truly feel. (I am not defending his comments in any way, just the fact that it was a private conversation.)

This is not my problem with the media. My problem is that this past year, our country has done nothing but talk about the upcoming election. Most of the time, it isn't even about the issues, just the persons running for office. If you want to see how a person stands on a position, you actually have to go to their website to find a factual answer since the media doesn't cover it. All they do is post headlines. "Can Trump save Trump?" What does that even mean? The media is so focused on this fiasco we call an election that they are forgetting to cover something very important, the news. 

From October 5 through October 11, Russia has placed half a million people into their nuclear shelter system as a test. Why would a country do this? TO SEE IF THEY ARE PREPARED FOR A NUCLEAR WAR. Russia has done nothing but poke the United States over the past year, flying into our airspace, getting unnecessarily close to our aircrafts and ships. The world is laughing in our faces because all we seem to care about is this election. By election, I mean the two people running for office and their personal lives. 

This is not the only thing the media has failed to cover. The media has not covered our increasing position in the Middle East. Troops are being sent to Iraq to inspect the old bases and to see what needs fixing up. Further, troops will be sent to actually fix up the bases. I know this because my father's old unit and his friends are the ones being sent to do this job. 

The media needs to stop caring about what Trump said ten years ago, and start caring about the things that actually matter in the world. They are doing an injustice to the citizens of the United States by not informing them about the actual news. 

- Eric

Source:

"CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

Prompted Post #10: 1984 Government

1984 Government vs. US Government

In today's society, the government is a hot topic of discussion. You can just say the word government and within ten seconds the conversation can become a debate. Granted that a lot of citizens have an unfavorable view of the US Government, there are still some citizens out there who have yet to give up their faith in it.

The idea of this blog is to present you with a piece of fiction that misrepresents the government, it's functions and goals, but most importantly, the role it plays in our everyday lives.

The piece that I've chosen is called Nineteen Eighty-Four and it's a dystopian novel by author George Orwell, that demonstrates a controlling government, and more specifically, the role it plays in the protagonist, Winston Smith's life. One aspect of the novel's government or "Big Brother" (as they refer to it in the book), is that they have microphones and cameras everywhere and I mean everywhere, from work to streets to even in one's apartment, to be on your best behavior is a must.

Repercussions for bad behavior could include anything from torture to death and on top of that, every single member of society is trained to report everything they see back to the police. Your own kid could turn you in for anything, from having doubts to reading a book, your life is always on the line.

Another aspect of the government in Nineteen Eighty-Four is that they rewrite/alter photographs and books to conform to their ever changing version of history. So they're not only controlling people physically, but mentally and emotionally now too.

_____________________________________________________________

It's not lost on me that Nineteen Eighty-Four is a satirical piece of writing, using exaggeration to emphasize the way we perceive government, but there still are the general misrepresentations that I must point out.

The first one is that this novel shows the government to be completely bad when in reality there are good things that come out of the government. Such as:

• the court system
• FDA, so you know what you're eating
• construct and maintain roads
• take care of our veterans
• Child Labor Laws

Also, there is no "American Dream" in this dystopia, Big Brother basically plans your life out for you, where you work, what you eat, how and if you can interact. There's no individual freedom of any kind, it's just do what you're told.

This novel also makes a point to show that the government is always watching the citizens, which is not really true. Camera's are all around today, but a lot of them are owned by private businesses rather than the government. In the US we have a lot of freedoms that people take for granted, and when people do take them for granted, that's when the police step in, as they should.

The point I'm trying to make is that the government isn't always what its made out to look like. This novel is just one of many examples of books, movies, songs, etc., that like to demonstrate what their version of the government looks like. In reality, the US government could always use improving, yes, but it also gives us opportunities and rights that other countries with different governments don't get to have.

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Sources:

"Nineteen Eighty-Four." - Wikiquote. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.

Temple, Emily. "George Orwell's 1984: A Visual History." Flavorwire George Orwells 1984 A VisualHistory Comments. N.p., 25 June 2011. Web. 09 Oct. 2016.           

Prompted Post #9: The Reality of Congress

Wednesday September 28 was a big day for Congress. First they were able to finally come up with a plan to help aid Flint and their water crisis after months of fighting between parties. Secondly, in a matter of hours, they were able to pass a bill to keep the government operating through December 9, as well as aid 1.1 billion dollars to fight the Zika Virus. This is actually the last big bill Congress needed to take care until after election day. As soon as it passed, you can bet every single one of them took off for their districts to go campaign to keep their jobs.

This kind of makes you think, maybe they just passed the bill to get home. Congress will go months at a time where they don't pass anything, sometimes resulting in a government shutdown just because the two parties couldn't arbitrate with each other. With that being true, it makes sense why they finally agree once it is time for their re-elections. They need to go home and campaign. This shows that the bulk of politicians just care about two things, themselves, and being right.

In reality, this bill could very possibly help eliminate the virus which has already effected millions of people around the world and continues to effect more and more everyday. Congress has the power to change lives, all they need to do is work together. The government is set up on a checks and balances system. Most people think the president holds the power but the way I see it, congress is really the ones that control it. With just a little compromise, they could change the world.

- Eric


Source:
Congress Passes Stopgap Government Funding Bill, $1.1b For Zika Fight." Fox News. FOX News Network, 2016. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.

Link:
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2016/09/29/congress-passes-stopgap-government-funding-bill-1-1b-for-zika-fight.html

Message from an Elementary Education Major

This week, I’ve decided to talk about an article I found online written by an Elementary Education major. This initially interested me because I was debating about becoming an Education major coming into Michigan State. Instead, I ended up as a Psychology major. I decided against becoming an Education major because the field is having a lot of difficulties right now, especially in the job search right out of college. However, this article shined a new light on elementary education that I’ve never seen before.

The author makes it clear right off the bat that she is teaching for her love of helping people, not just controlling a classroom of students. This was probably one of my greatest takeaways because not only is she disproving all the misconceptions about teachers controlling classrooms, but she emphasizes how much teachers just want to help. Teachers aren’t there to babysit, they’re there to help, teach, and care.

Another key point of this article is when the author states: “I simply want more people to be aware of the fact that a child’s potential should not have to be determined by his or her race, ethnicity, parent’s income or level of education, special needs, etc.”. This sentence speaks volumes on all counts. No matter where the child comes from; whether it’s  his or her racial, ethnic or economic background, every child is entitled to the same education, and that is what this teacher is trying to accomplish. The author expands on this subject by explaining that there is no intelligence gap between white and black children at birth. What happens is that societal beliefs come into play when these children are at a young age and make them believe that they are destined to fail. Teachers should never teach based on a societal stereotype and if they do, then their students are bound to perform poorly because they have little expected from them. No child should live or learn by lower expectations because they only end up living up to a lower standard, a case that thousands of children fall victim to every year.

This article touched on some of the topics of an Education major that I was initially worried about and ended up making me a little jealous of the author's decision to stick with this major. Who knows, I’m only a freshman I still could change majors!

Sources:

Johnson, Maren. "Teachers Are Changing The World." Odyssey. Rollins College, 14 Sept. 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.

Http://englishbookgeorgia.com/blogebg/author/ebgblog_autho/. "Three Steps to Positive Classroom Leadership." Blog EBG. N.p., 21 Apr. 2015. Web. 02 Oct. 2016.

-Jenna

Amanda Knox Trial: Italian Judicial System

In this blog, my goal is to examine and demonstrate the differences between the Italian Judicial System and the American Judicial System when it comes to the Amanda Knox Case. I want to show that even though our system is criticized and judged it is an overall fair system.

Who’s Amanda Knox? For those who don’t know, here’s a brief summary of the case:

Amanda Knox was a college student that decided to study abroad in Italy. All was well, until she came home to find her roommate, Meredith Kercher, dead. Then she became the target suspect by not only the prosecution but by the media too. After 2 guilty verdicts and 2 acquittals, Knox regained her freedom and now quietly resides in her hometown of Seattle.

I’m going to divide this blog into three aspects that show the difference between the two systems in the case: False Imprisonment, Interrogation, and Prosecution/Media.

False Imprisonment

Under the Italian Justice System, Amanda Knox was falsely imprisoned for 4 years and she even sat in jail for one year before she was even charged with anything. There was no DNA in the room of the murder or linking her to it, it was all based on assumptions. This would not hold up in the states, there are consequences for false imprisonment in the US, yet Amanda Knox never got her justice for being unfairly locked up in Italy.

Interrogation

Knox was interrogated repeatedly for 5 days which caused extreme exhaustion especially with no food or water. She was also interrogated not only without a lawyer but as a suspect too, which is against Italian Law yet it was still permissible in court. Under the 6th Amendment in the US, everyone has a right to a lawyer which Knox didn’t get. Knox was abused physically and verbally, being slapped and called derogatory names. She was interrogated in an unjust way by the Italian Judicial System.

Prosecution/Media

Giuliano Mignini was the prosecutor on the case, but at the same time was on trial for abuse of office. Along with that, the prosecution fed the media, since the hearings were closed to the public. They even went as far as to tell Knox she tested positive for HIV, making her list her sex partners then taking that list to use against her and in the end she was actually clean.

The Jury was never sequestered, they had lunch with the lawyers, went on with their day and that caused this case to be decided before it even started. In the US, the jury is completely secluded from any outside interference so situations like this don't happen.

The main objective of this blog is not to bash the Italian System, but to show the American people that our system is not as bad as society makes it out to be. After researching and understanding this case, it showed me how much we as citizens take for granted and how many rights we actually do have to protect us as opposed to other countries who don't give their citizens those same rights.

-Riley

Sources:

Amanda Knox. Dir. Rod Blackhurst. Perf. Amanda Knox. Netflix, 30 Sept. 2016. Web. 30 Sept. 2016.

By Declaring Dissidents “insane”, the Soviets Could Hold Them Indefinitely, and since No Criminal Charges Were Filed, There Was No Need for a Potentially Embarrassing Public Trial.   Russian Psychiatrists Were Bullied into Being Complicit in T. "Amanda Knox." Graham Lawyer Blog RSS. N.p., 27 Sept. 2011. Web. 01 Oct. 2016.

"The Italian Justice System." The Italian Justice System. Injustice in Perugia, n.d. Web. 01 Oct. 2016.