Heads Up!


Bullying is one of the biggest problems in schools all over the world. It all starts with an annoying comment then it leads to sever matters. We've seen it happen and unfortunately, lots of people know how it feels. No one likes it, especially people who can’t fight back whether it's physically or verbally. Those people or students are immigrants and English Language Learners (ELLs).


My interest on ELLs being bullied is very personal. Two years ago I moved to the United States knowing only twenty words in English.  I went to a new school where people were nice to me, but a few other students were making fun of me. I remember they were making fun of my accent and a few words I used. They continued to do that for a full school year and it really bothered me. It wasn't just me they were making fun of, there were more of my classmates that had to go through their bullying and act like everything was okay.


The issue is that these students can’t fight back in any way other than inappropriate behavior. There are many ways these kids get bullied. For example, students get taunted and sometimes physically abused. They are made fun of the way they dress or what they believe in and many more.


This is important because if all these non-ELLs are getting bullied and not a lot of peple know about it. There a many difficulties that these students have. Like, learning disabilities, adjusting to the environment and meeting new people. Language differences, they might not understand what is being said or cannot respond to the point. Bullying experiences may lead to inappropriate behavior and self-harm.


Research shows that about 50% of students say that they make fun of non-ELLs accents and 29% say that they use physical force to bully them.


Frequently asked questions


Annotated Bibliography


immigrant
immigrant
Image by: www.secureteen.com  

Are they really that Important ?

For my ¨You and the World¨ project, I decided to research the abuse of drugs. Drug abuse is when a person use more of a drug than they are suppose to. Drug abuse interested me because drugs have encounter in my life in many ways. For instance, Some people that I personally know are addicted to drugs and don’t know that they are. In addition, I am interested in this topic because drugs are frequently used in and outside of school. Drugs that are prescribed from the doctors is not abuse; It becomes abuse when people continue to use the drug after the amount or days prescribed are over. A person is usually addicted when they continue to use the drug for the pleasure that they receive while taking that certain drug. Risk for addiction is influenced by a combination of factors that include individual biology, social environment, and age or stage of development.

"HarmCausedByDrugsTable" by User:Tesseract2 - "Scoring drugs", The Economist, data from "Drug harms in the UK: a multi-criteria decision analysis", by David Nutt, Leslie King and Lawrence Phillips, on behalf of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs. The Lancet. 2010 Nov 6;376(9752):1558-65. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61462-6 PMID:21036393. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HarmCausedByDrugsTable.svg#/media/File:HarmCausedByDrugsTable.svg


In this picture it shows a list of severe drugs. The picture depicts how many people each drugs harms. It also shows how many people around that person is harmed even though they do not use the drug.


Drug abuse is a problem that occurs all around the world. Most people who use drugs are influenced by their environment. Although a numerous amount of people use drugs, Not many know the effect it had on your brain. It is important for you to know about drugs because they can cause lifelong problems or even death. You probably know that the United states is in debt, but did you know that drugs are a big reason why we are this predicament? The United States spend about $193 billion on illicit drugs, $193 billion on tobacco, and $235 billion on alcohol yearly. It is significant to inform you about drugs because you as a reader probably didn’t know the effects drugs have one people and the country itself.   

Before doing this project and research, I already knew an iota amount of knowledge on drugs such as if a person is addicted to a drug and they really want to stop, it will be a hard process because of your brain not the person. From the research so far, I have learned some new types of drugs. In addition, I also learned how drugs disrupts your communication system inside your brain. Learning all these negative things about drugs made me think of other things. As I continue to this project, I would like to discover if there are any ways that these horrible drugs help a person in a positive way. I hope to learn that there are other people out in the world trying to find ways to lower the drug abuse rate. Also, I hope to learn that the government or police are trying to eliminate any illegal drugs from any users.

In conclusion, My ¨ You and The World “project is on the abuse of drugs and how it affects people. For my outside portion of the project I will be doing a survey and a visit to a rehabilitation center.


Annotated Bibliography

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?

Which country won the Vietnam war? Who is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court? What is the number of voting representatives in the House of Representatives? Can’t answer those questions? Chances are you are not alone, as most of the American population cannot answer basic questions about US civics, politics and history. That is not acceptable and I am here to help solve the crisis.

How did I come to know about the problem at hand? It came to light from of all media, a Youtube video. This video accurately showed that the majority of the American public does not know basic information. For one of the questions, most responses to “Name a country that begins with u,” were “Utah.” Utah is not country, the United States of America is. An overlooked problem in our society is that the citizens are not fully informed about the country they live in. It has always frustrated me to see that citizens who grew up in a school system, which although is not the greatest, can’t remember the topics they learned in class or in school.

“Americans Don't Know Much About History” reads the title of an NBC article, detailing the lack of knowledge the country as a whole has. This could be the fact that our education system and our method of news distribution has been . I am not fond of American news agencies for their constant repetition of information and only reporting about the “breaking news.” One might at least know, from all of the ad hominem thrown at the public, what some current issues are and maybe basic facts. But no, an article by Mic.com on a study done by Ispos-MORI, shows that our country is the 2nd most ignorant in the world when it comes to knowing about social issues and topics.

M2IwNzQzOTg5YSMvRlBoVXBNeUJLTUNHVTl1c2k2TFhHc1pHcHg4PS8xMXg0MTo4OTR4NTk4Lzg0MHg1MzAvZmlsdGVyczpxdWFsaXR5KDcwKS9odHRwOi8vczMuYW1h.jpg

This infographic above is a great showing of where we fall on the ignorance scale.

What does not being informed mean to the country though? By not being informed, the country will not be able to make decisions that help the situation. Like immigration, most citizens know that illegal immigrants cross the border, but many don’t know that immigrants legally take the citizenship test have a 97% chance of passing! What does this have to do with the situation? Well the whole test is about American civics and politics so Americans should pass with ease, right? Wait for it, 1 out of 3 naturalized citizens would fail the test. If the number of answers right needed to pass the test was 7 instead of 6, 1 out of 2 naturalized citizens would fail. What does this all say about our country? That we are losers and or stupid? No, it says we need to study more and be engaged in the topics that affect us allScreenshot 2015-04-24 at 11.41.34 PM.png

This above is the chart on how many native citizens would actually still get to live in the country if they had to take a citizenship test to determine their status.

After reading this, some might say, “Who cares? The government makes the decisions and not me, besides I already am informed about this country.” It does make a difference on what you know,  this country is a republic and built off the people. I hope to see throughout the course of this project, that citizens will all take charge of our American knowledge and strive to learn about the country we call home. It is a civic duty to be informed. Our country must enlighten itself.


Images are taken from sources listed in the bibliography.

Practice your American smarts

Check out the youtube video which got me started, I bet you will laugh!

Want to take the Ipsos-MORI test, click on me!

Bibliography


Unchain the Voice

  In our English class we were given a project call Passion,Information Change : You and the world. In this project we become people called the agents of change . We  focus on an issue in the world we would like to change and than we go out into the world and try to change it   in the best we know possible .  The issue I am focusing on is “The difference between Snitching and Speaking out “. My project is called  “Unchain the voice”. When you hear this , the first thing that might come to your mind is bullying, speaking up  and out . Well it is, some of the way. Not totally though .   It is more about how to define the terms for ourselves and use them in positive instead of negative ways .  Snitching is a negative term that only in riches criminals. “ - Robert Watson  Speaking out  is a term that brings justice  to others and even yourself .  I choose this topic because  people have  bent the definition so many times that I believe people have forgotten the true meanings.  We need to be educated about it and be ready for when the time comes to identify it .    Identify it may be easy once you practice it but acting on it is going to be the difficult part.



 The issue we face   is all over the world . We see it in schools and on the street and in jails and prisons the most . Snitching is to keep from justice happening . For example , you see one  your best friend push a kid to the floor but you say nothing . You chain your voice up because that is your best friend . Why don’t you say anything ? Why don’t you get help? What are you afraid of?  I can explain , the consequences that follow up with the voice that is unchained. You lose respect but why ?  This is why I want to educate young people about the issue before it gets to out of control .  Keeping a secret for a friend ,,,, to witnessing or hearing something that can cause harm to yourself or someone else is wrong. It is time to unchain the voices .  We unchain by finding one key at a time .





Fig 1: This is our  voices when we   speak out to help others or ourselves . This is when  we use our voices for the right cause. We don’t just free the voice but our own selves from restraint . We speak out . We do not snitch  . Snitch is only a negative term that empowers those who do not have the power to bring justice on themselves .





fig 2 : symbolizes the rhyme. Snitches get stiches . A lot of people probably thought it was a stupid rhyme to probably keep you  quiet from telling the truth .  The rhyme did have some truth to it though . Much truth probably  . The consequences of bringing someone to justice may not always be  always sometimes physical  depends on your situation and your surroundings . The consequences in high  school or a lower school may be that you get left out , labeled a snitch , and you might lose friends. So why do it ? What if you don’t do it . Consequences will come in all types and forms but only leaders can  handle the pressure of speaking out not snitching speaking out .  So will you lead or will you follow for someone else to suffer the consequence of you saying nothing at all.







figure 3: We spoke about all the things before .  Breaking the chain and the consequences for it  but just think about your reward. Just reach out your hands up and say I can use my voice. You have to believe before you can actually do it .  You will earn a good reputation for being accountable .  Speak out and finally be free.




At this point I wonder about people responses and what they think about snitching and speaking out. I wonder if this issue even crossed their mind or did they even think this was an issue at all . I wonder if people will agree and try to stop or fight against what I am saying because of past experiences,  I want to know if an unchained voice to them is better chained.



http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/

http://www.snitching.org/p/ini.html

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/speaking-out

You are what you listen to

What is your favorite type of music? Can I assume pop? Possibly rap? Or are you a classic rock or classical music fan being overwhelmed by the popularity of pop music?
Well… I am one of those classic rock and classical music fans in the minority. Yes, I listen to classical music for fun. No, not just for music class. It isn’t boring! I find it diverse, dramatic, energetic, relaxing and more. Like a human being, there are so many different moods, personalities and styles. And what of pop music?

“Pop” or popular music is simple. The most popular pop songs are based on the same four chords. That’s right! The same four chords over and over and over. Don’t believe me? Watch “The Four Chord Song” by Axis of Powers here:

And what of the lyrics? The melodies are rudimentary at best and these songs are all about sex, drugs and our material culture. See Nicki Minaj's “Anaconda” written as a poem.

The first program to be cut from our schools is music. Music and art. Musical training helps increase coordination, emotional development, builds imagination, teach disciplines and much more! Here’s “20 Important Benefits of Music In Our Schools”. Oh, did I mention better SAT scores?

The music you listen to correlates to your smarts! Click here to see where your musical tastes fall in this chart of SAT scores. Are you in the thousands? Or, gasp, 800s? Did this inspire you to listen to Mozart right now? This chart dates back to 2009 but the graphic is new. It maps the musical tastes of college students and their SAT scores.

Listening to Mozart during a test makes you get better results as proven by the University of California at Irvine. “... they conducted a study to improve your IQ with specific kinds of music. The study psychologists observed that participants who listened to 10 minutes of a Mozart piano sonata achieved higher scores on a test of spatial intelligence than the participants who took the test without having listened to the music.” Psychologists found that if they listened to a different type of music, for example, a dance piece with lots of rhythms, there is no improvement. This suggests that composition such as Mozart’s sonatas stimulate pathways in your brain that have a connection with mental skills. This “... asserts that music has a direct effect on human intelligence and can improve your IQ.” So how can you stimulate your brain with music and eventually improve your IQ? Take advantage of wonderful opportunities such as...

Project 440, created by Joseph Conyers, a bassist currently a part of the Philadelphia Orchestra, is an organization “designed to encourage, educate and empower communities through the unifying power of music.” They want “...to establish music as a central tool for education, leadership, and community building.” Through training young musicians to serve their community with sharing their gift of music, they have increased appreciation of classical music in young people. Project 440 strives to ignite young people’s excitement about sharing their music with the world. With help during the college audition process, Project 440 empowers students to turn their passion for playing into a passion for giving.

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These children are getting to see Joseph Conyers, a bassist, up close and in action. Learning a new instrument, like a new language, only gets more challenging as you grow older. It’s easier to start at a young age! (Source)

In conclusion, music can improve your IQ and test scores and is an invaluable opportunity for all. wonder what classically trained musicians listen to in their free time? How do most teenagers actually feel about classical music? About learning a classical instrument?

The Teenage Struggle, Lifes So Hard

In our English class we are doing a project that is called You and the World. Basically this project is when the students in our ninth grade English class were we research deeper into societal issues of today, and look more into what we can do to help the problem or get closer to ending it.


What my You and the World project is about is Teen Stress. I chose this topic to research in one because, I didn't a lot of other topics in mind. But more importantly two, because this is a problem that I face myself and see a lot of other teenagers around me struggle with as well and I see this a big problem in our society the is overlooked a lot of times, and can be hard for people to deal with.


The reason I am interested in this project because I think that some of the studies show some really crazy things that you would have never thought of. We all know that adults always have a lot on their plates to deal with ranging from bills and things to even taking care of their own child. But could you think through all of that your child has a higher stress level than the adult. Now you may be thinking well they are an adult they know how to deal with that better, but it is still a valid problem, and teenagers should be able to get the help earlier in their lives so they will be able to deal with it.


This image is showing actually displayed a mostly accurate portrayal of a lot of the things that can cause teen stress.




You see a good amount of these things do not really actually involve the teen but is more of a mental thing. Like the fitting in, or the expectations. These are things that can be problematic for some, but it just takes someone to be there for them and help them out when they are feeling a little down. Like the fitting in, I don’t think people should worry about fitting in with everyone else and maybe just get more of quality friends than quantity of friends. And expectations can be a really hard one for people because I have to deal with this problem all the time in my life, and it happens when people know how well you can do and push you to always do that 120% amount of work that they know you can, and that is very stressful on people. Because we start to feel like if we don’t meet the expectations that we aren't doing good enough. I think that people should be able to work as much as what is comfortable with them and be able to push themselves sometimes, which is different from always having someone do it for you.


Image result for teen stress


Since I have already done a good deal of research on my topic, I am starting to ponder upon many different ideas that we could do to help teens deal with stress that they have so that maybe we can bring the level down from a 5.8/10 to the average of 3.9/10. Whether it be from something as large making everyone teen instantly nice to each other and make everyone get along. To something like spreading awareness enough so that it reaches out to the genuinely nice people who might take time out of their own day to help a teen or anyone for that matter not feel as stressed or depressed.


Annotated Bibliography


Sponsoring, for Immigration.

What I like to do this Benchmark for this quarter is doing, Sponsors for Immigrants.

I would like to do this topic because there are many students, kids, and even adults who came to America, from another country, but wasn’t able to do so without a sponsor.

Sponsoring has a different meaning in both America, and outer-America. I think it’s obvious what it means in America, which is a person, firm, organization, etc., that finances and buys the time to broadcast a radio or television program so as to advertise a product, a political party, etc. . In the immigration field, the term "sponsor" often means to bring to the United States or "petition for".

Tan Le, a women who had a similar experience. Tan Le is the founder & CEO of Emotiv, a bioinformatics company that's working on identifying biomarkers for mental and other neurological conditions using electroencephalography

http://www.ted.com/talks/tan_le_my_immigration_story?language=en#t-3199

She talked in a TEDtalk to share her immigration story.

Immigrants who boards to the U.S are considered “Aliens” as said here;http://www.immihelp.com/affidavit-of-support/sponsor-responsibilities-obligations.html

The reason why? I don’t know myself, I still have more research to go through but, I have enough research to tell you about the topic i'm doing and enough information to give you a “Sneak Peek” at the topic.


Another thing I like to talk about is William Sloane.

This picture is William Sloan,William Milligan Sloane III, also known simply as William Sloane, was an American author of fantasy and science fiction literature, and a publisher. Sloane is best known for his novel To Walk the Night.



When I asked my father what his sponsor’s name was before he came to America, He answered with excitement. He asked me if I know where he lives or what not, how’s he doing, or how his children were. He told me stories like how young my sister was, when they came. My father also spoke about wanting to visit to say his thanks for helping him and his family to be here and live a happy life. The thing that saddened my Dad was the death of William Slaone. He died April 12, 2004. My father still kept a smile up and asked if I can have any sort of contact to his kids. The only thing I found interesting about William Slaone before he died, was his extended interview; http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/2004/08/27/august-27-2004-william-sloane-coffin-extended-interview/2945/

To this day, my father still remembers him, always wanted to visit him, he wasn't able to do so since he didn’t have a vehicle to travel far enough to give his thanks. Now that I heard my father’s story, I’d want to take this research to another level, to the point where my father can give his thanks, find more information about Sponsoring for Immigration, know how immigrants feel about their sponsors. Did they feel happiness? Do they even want to visit their sponsors? These questions would be the future towards my research.

Killadelphia- The City of Brutally Love?

Gun Violence. Something that could affect you, your family, and community. I hear a lot about fatal shootings on the news, from people, and social media. I could have lost my cousin because he was a victim of gun violence. He was shot four times, and I wasn’t sure if I was ever going to see him again. This is something that goes through the minds of millions of people throughout the world each day when they learn that a loved one is a victim of gun violence. But what are we going to do about it? Are we going to just sit around and let this happen to young men and women? There are so many reasons why this is happening. You can find these reasons in your own backyard. We may think if this does not happen to us or are family we are fine. But maybe the neighborhood you live in isn’t.  How do you know if you are safe or not? Is Philly a safe place to be? Is your neighborhood a safe place ? Or even better, are you mindful of your surroundings and what’s going on in the environment you live in? Are there ways of preventing this from happening in the city of Philadelphia? Come along with me on my journey to learn more about this topic on my “You and The World’ project to make Philadelphia and your neighborhood a safer and happier place to be.


At the close of 2014, Philadelphia was ranked #4 overall in number of gun murders with 729 people being killed throughout the United States. This is out of more than 35,000 cities and towns in the US that Philadelphia was listed fourth.  Above please see the statistics as it relates to gun shooting victims in the months of January through September in 2014.  The graph below shows the number of shooting victims by for each day in the month of August of 2014.







http://guncrisis.org/category/statistics/



The statistics help to paint the picture of how severe this problem in our city.There was some hope for Philadelphians in January of 2015 when Tom Wolf was installed as the Governor of Pennsylvania.  Prior to being elected, Governor Wolf was endorsed by CeasefirePA, the leading gun control group in Pennsylvania.  Governor Wolf has taken a strong stance on gun issues in the state of Pennsylvania which will have a direct impact on Philadelphia.  Here are some of the changes that would possibly take place based on Governor Wolf’s stance:

  • Governor Wolf supports expanding gun background checks to include the private sale of both rifles and shotguns.

  • Governor Wolf supports background checks for the purchase of ammunition. This would mean that anytime you needed ammunition, you’d have to have a background check.

  • Governor Wolf is also open to providing support for bills requiring businesses to have a license to sell or transfer ammunition.

  • Governor Wolf is considered requiring all firearms, not just handguns and pistols, to have locking devices on them.

  • Governor Wolf opposes national reciprocity, which means those people who are hoping to be able to cross state lines and still have their permit to carry concealed valid, are probably not going to see it during his term.

These are just a few of the stances that Governor Wolf has proposed to take as it relates to gun issues in Pennsylvania.  These stances would not only affect those that legally carry firearms but also the suppliers.  This brings hope for our city and our communities.  I am hopeful that better control through regulations and stricter background checks, we can begin to seek to remedy this problem in our city, hopefully save some lives, and be known as we should be “Philadelphia- The City of Brotherly Love.  

Throughout learning and gathering further information on my topic, I hope to educate you on gun issues in Philadelphia, and what to be aware of in your neighborhood. I am ready and looking forward to helping to make a difference in Philadelphia for you and to be in a healthier and safer place as we should be.

To read my bibliography click here: )!


Internal Affairs: The Right to Know in an organization on need to know basis

I am doing my project on the philadelphia Police department and their handlings of complaints made by the public. The issue that I wish to address and make more aware to people is that The Philadelphia Police Department, is an organization that oversees one of the largest cities in the U.S, yet thousands upon thousands of complaints ranging from stealing to shooting unarmed people. These complaints, when they are made are filed with the Police Advisory Commission. However, Internal Affairs is how the PPD chooses to investigate these claims. But they rarely ever release these documents to the public, despite the freedom of information that still holds in our society today.


  This is an issue because the usual outcomes of these cases. The Police officers are not given any punishment in most cases. Most recent to come to light is the story of Brandon Tate Brown. He was shot in the back of the head by a police officer. In all of these big influential cases police departments have always made the facts of the case public. The Brandon Tate-Brown case was handed out completely the opposite. The way that case was handled is just one of many ways that the Police Department has done the citizens of Philadelphia a great injustice. The way that I intend is to show this is through three steps: Interviews, Outreach and Conveying the message



 First I will interview three different people who all have different roles in the problems with the police department. First I will interview the chair of the Police Advisory Commision, Kelvyn Anderson. He can show the board’s view on the public affairs and handlings of the Police. Second I will interview a police officer. I have decided to talk to the police officer in charge of Public Affairs, John Stanford to see if he can get me in touch with an officer willing to talk to me. Then I will interview an Activist who is voiced in the problems of this particular problem that the PPD seems to have.Then I will do community outreach. All I have to do is take a handful of students and see what knowledge they know of this issue. Then proceed to show them my project and hope that by influencing them in any way that I can show them the problem so that they might become aware of it and try to help improve it.


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Brandon Tate-Brown. 26 year old man shot by a police officer. There were no charges made on the man.


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Kelvyn Anderson Head of the Police Advisory Commission

What’s in your Happy Meal?

Many Americans have explored the luxurious world of fast food but not many of them know what they are actually eating. On the top 15 fattest Countries in the world the United states is number nine. I believe most people are or becoming obese is because they don’t know what they are eating. I would now like to introduce you to my project. My project is based upon fast food industries, what I am doing is bringing awareness to what is actually in the food that we are eating. Yes, they might tell you the calories in their food but they don’t tell you what’s actually in their food. That is what my project is for to raise awareness and hopefully make a change in people’s diets. I’m interested in this topic because my little brother eats McDonalds, Wendy’s, Popeyes, etc. and he is 30 pounds overweight for his change and I don’t only want to show him what he’s doing to his body but my mom as well because she feeds it to him. Showing them Data and all the things I researched will hopefully change my brother’s eating habits.boys-height-weight.png

"Average Height to Weight Chart- Babies to Teenagers." Disabled World. Disabled World. Web. <http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/height-weight-teens.shtml>.



My project is very significant to the World because no one ever stops to take a look and see what they are actually eating and I think it’s about time we should. McDonald’s is one of the most famous and largest fast food restaurants in the world. There was a documentary called Super Size Me directed by Morgan Spurlock. It brought awareness to what McDonald’s food does to your body. Yeah sure people laid off McDonald’s after seeing the documentary but of course Most people went back to their regular diet. With my project I want to dig deeper into the fast food industries food. Not only McDonald’s but Wendy’s, Chic-Fil-A and Chipotle. I picked these other 3 because they seem to be the most prominent fast food joints now and I would like to research more on where where all of their food supply comes from.

I first researched the World’s favorite side order, French Fries and what I found is horrifying. I first researched McDonald’s French fries and rather having the usual three ingredients Mcdonald’s had 17. I found this great website that tells you all 17 ingredients and how hazardous they are to human health. One in particular that I found very disturbing is the sodium acid pyrophosphate which is used for the color in the fries. It makes you think well what is the actual color of the fry? This is not only McDonald’s fries either, it’s Wendy’s too. Wendy’s has made a claim that their new and improved fries are natural, well that’s a lie. They first get a dip of sodium acid pyrophosphate then they are powdered with a little more natural D-glucose. So this proves that Wendy’s is a little less natural than they make it seem and this website gives you a lot more information on Wendy’s fries. McD'sFries.pngVaughan, Mark. "We Did the Fast Food Burgers,now We Need to Do the Fries." You Are Not a Fit Person. 26 May 2010. Web. <http://youarenotafitperson.com/2010/05/26/we-did-the-fast-food-burgers-now-we-need-to-do-the-fries/>.

It is important for everyone to know about this because I bet you are reading this now and wondering what is in the food you are eating now. I bet you are questioning everything you eat and order from fast food restaurants. Have you ever questioned what is in the chicken nugget and what makes it a nugget. Well these doctors in this article questioned the same thing and they did a whole experiment on it. They dissected two different chicken nuggets from two unknown places. When they looked at the chicken nuggets under the Microscope they found blood vessels, fat, skeletal muscles, cartilage, organ tissue, bone fragments and many more disturbing things. So if you have to ask why this is important to you, read that. It’ll change your mind.

Hamblin, James. "Look Inside a Chicken Nugget." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 21 Oct. 2013. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/look-inside-a-chicken-nugget/280720/>.


Going through the process of my project I am wondering about many more things that I haven’t researched yet. For one where does all of the beef come from that is in the burgers? Also questions like where does Chic-Fil-A’s chicken come from since it claims to be real and I also want to dig a little more into Chipotle and see what they’re hiding. Moving forward with this project I am sure that I will answer all of the many questions I have. Not only will I do that but I will accomplish my goal with this project which is raising awareness. At least 2.8 million people in the world die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. I want to stop this and I am hoping my project will atleast help with this problem.


Annotated Bibliography


Technology Takeover

Technology is amazing and benefits everyone exponentially. Though, sometimes we depend on it way too much. We use tech for everything. For example, talking to other people from anywhere in the world, transportation, research and mainly entertainment, basically everything we do is based around technology. These days people don’t need to talk face to face they can just text each other or talk on the phone. It’s basically taking over the minds of everyone. This topic interests me because technology is something that is really important in our daily life that people can’t go one day without using any form of technology. There are many negative side effects of abusing the technology we use today that people don’t even realize until they are hurt by it. There are at least twenty five negative effects technology has on human beings. One of the main issues that technology has over everyone is isolation. Isolation is the lack of contact with other people in normal daily living. Such as hanging out with friends, at your job, or any other physical activities that don’t have to deal with technology. 

Studies show that people who are normally isolated by technology are most likely to die prematurely regardless of your health issues. We humans can isolate ourselves in numerous ways, one being listening to music. Music takes a big part in the isolation the minds of the people. Almost everywhere you go no matter where you are you see someone on their cellular device, on a laptop, listening to their music isolating themselves from the real world.

Another major effect that technology has on humans today is the lack of focus and shortening of the intention span. Studies show that today people average intention span can go for about five minutes, but about ten years ago it was twelve. It mainly affects the young more negatively than the elderly. Since teens and children these days have social media like Facebook, Instagram, and twitter they are all caught up in what's going on there that they lose focus on the important things. About 25% of people forget the names of close friends and relatives. About four years ago in the UK 1.6 billion dollars of damage was caused by the lack of concentration. Mostly people forgetting their pots and pans on the stove which causes a fire ruining their entire lives. The over using of technology can be a very dangerous thing. Scientist say that it remodels the way our brains work, but not in a good way.

As we move closer into the future and technology starts to progress, would it get worse from here on out. Thinking about all the horrible possibilities that technology can do to us will it move us forward or take us back. Eventually people won’t even have to leave their house to go to work or go shopping. Online school is now a thing so you don’t even have to leave your own bedroom. Yes, technology makes everything easier and faster but in the long run is it really helping us? Soon enough everything will be digital and technology will destroy the minds of everyone.




Annotated Bibliography

Girls-on-mobile-phones-014
Girls-on-mobile-phones-014
http://galleryhip.com/teens-on-phones.html

One Life Gone, Makes History

My topic is about Teen Suicide. The reason why I’m interested in this particular topic is because I tried to commit suicide before. Just because I attempted to kill myself, really does not explain why I’m really interested in this topic. I’m interested in this topic because ever since I found myself a reasonable way out, I feel like helping out others who struggle to find that escape. Seeing someone who goes through problems and not have any type of help ticks me off at times. The reason why this is important is because teens around the world have given up their lives without seeing the further future. Approximately 4,600 lives are lost each year. The top three method are 45% firearm, 40% suffocation,and 8% poisoning. Now teen suicide is the eighth-leading cause of death overall in the U.S. and it is the third-leading cause of death for young people between the ages of 15-24 years old.  It is the fourth-leading cause of death for kids between the ages of 10-14 years old. Alright you may think just because it’s in the third/fourth/eighth-leading cause of death shows that it isn’t important, but it is because it may not be the first-leading cause of death but it’s at least in the top ten-leading cause death. Incase you were interested in helping here are some teen suicide warning signs: Disinterest in favorite extracurricular activities, Substance abuse, including the use of alcohol and drugs, Behavioral problems, Sleep changes, Eating changes, Etc. Most of these signs may not appear of out the thin blue, most people will keep it hidden like I did. This is important for you guys to know because for all we know they maybe a person whos thinking about committing suicide and you have a split chance to stop them. It is also important for you guys because just in case the person isn’t your friend you should at least go out try to stop them of thinking about it.Most people will intend to get closer to the person whos thinking about committing suicide, but that may make the person uncomfortable or more liking disturbed. Below you’ll find a picture of a suicide prevention ribbon. They’re two types of ribbon created for suicide prevention awareness. What I hope to learn about continuing doing this topic is hopefully finding out records of how many lives have been taken in the past decade for different categories one for the ages between 10-14, another for 15-24, and compared if the ives have increased or decreased between each group set. I wonder if there are any other type of signs about suicidal people besides the list I read. I also wonder how many suicidal people go out and ask for help instead if staying hidden. I also wonder how many suicidal people got acknowledge after the death. Through this project I hope I get the chance to see the data records of how many suicidal people turn themselves into a mental state hospital or someone helping out and turning in the suicidal person into a mental state hospital or going to therapist.

To view my annotated bibliography click here!

19130-custom-ribbon-magnet-sticker-Suicide+Prevention
19130-custom-ribbon-magnet-sticker-Suicide+Prevention
Ribbon-with-logo
Ribbon-with-logo

(Internet) Friend or Foe?

Online Predators. Most people have heard the term, but what, or really who, are they? In a nutshell Online Predators are people who commit child sexual abuse that begins or takes place on the Internet. “Predators have easy and anonymous access to children online where they can conceal their identity and roam without limit. Often, we have an image of sexual predators lurking around school playgrounds or hiding behind bushes scoping out their potential victims, but the reality is that today’s sexual predators search for victims while hiding behind a computer screen, taking advantage of the anonymity the Internet offers.” According to Enough is Enough. Children are targeted, but a large amount of Teens are affected as well. “The majority of victims of Internet-initiated sex crimes were between 13 to 15 years old; 75% were girls and 25% were boys.” Was recorded by the JOURNAL OF ADOLESCENT HEALTH. Here is a graph that shows the most popular ways these said predators can reach the children.

Screenshot 2015-04-24 at 12.47.08 PM.png

"InternetSafety101.org: Statistics." InternetSafety101.org: Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <http://www.internetsafety101.org/Predatorstatistics.htm>.

This needs to be brought up and have more awareness for many reasons. One; most children are not educated or not educated enough about this topic. If we could teach kids how to be safe Online, there would be a lot less of this crime going on. Two; some parents are not educated enough in this field. If more parents knew the signs of a predator, then more of these instances can be avoided or cut off before it goes out of control. And finally; our society is mostly based off of modern technology. This allows Predators to stalk in the depthness that is the internet and can get away scott-free. If we educate and teach more individuals about this issue, more events like these can be stopped. There has been cases where some police units are trying to bring up awareness, however it is not brought up enough on a global scale. A picture of the Police's Campaign Poster is here:

Screenshot 2015-04-24 at 12.36.07 PM.png

Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015. <Source>.

So what are some of the signs of an Online Predator? According to the Washington Police there are several tricks Online Predators use including, but not limiting to; chatting privately, flattery, intimidation, asking for personal information, and sympathy. The main way predators lure in their victims is by ‘grooming’. “Grooming is how online predators manipulate children into meeting in real life with their sole goal of having sex with them. Predators will spend weeks, months, and/or possibly years "grooming" their victims before asking them to meet in real life.”

So in conclusion people who commit child sexual abuse that begins or takes place on the Internet are known as Online Predators. They ‘groom’ children into thinking they are trustworthy and take advantage of that to engage in sexual offenses. There are many signs of having contact with a predator such as chatting privately, flattery, intimidation, asking for personal information, and sympathy.


Bibliography

The More Uncommon

Everyone has heard of mental illnesses throughout their life or maybe have experienced it. Mental Illness, or Mental Health, affects the way you think, handle stress , relate to others and make choices. Mental illnesses can be triggered by past experiences or genes. Having a mental problem is really common so treatment is easily found. Something that is not common however is some actual mental health cases. I’m sure we have heard of Depression, Anxiety or maybe Schizophrenia. But, yes there is a but, have you ever heard of Alexithymia? What about Hysteria? Or even Paranoia Schizophrenia ? I am here to raise awareness for ALL mental illnesses. I care about this topic because I not only have friends who have some of the following mental illnesses or the more common ones but I too also have a mental illness. I have Paranoid Personality Disorder. A person with paranoid personality disorder will almost always believe that others are trying to harm or kill them whether or not there is evidence to prove it.

More people suffer from mental illnesses than we think.


Hysteria is a psychological disorder that basically turns stress into symptoms. It gives the patient an unmanageable amount of emotional access, going as far as possibly numbing different body parts. People with Hysteria set aside their emotional problems from even themselves and involuntarily develop different tactics and symptoms to protect themselves from facing these problems. Originally, Hysteria used to be called “Female Hysteria” as the term hysteria was once used to describe a medical condition thought to affect only women. The term hysteria even came from the Greek word hysteria which means “uterus.” Hysteria can also give the patient very acute senses, due to a dissociation of the patient from their mind, leaving them in complete control of their body’s function and reflexes.


Sometimes patients will be asked by their doctor or therapist to describe how they feel and they can not. It’s not because they do not want to, it’s because they do not know how to. Alexithymia literal translation is the lack of words for emotions. Not many have heard of Alexithymia as it is very rare. Only 8% of males and 25 of females experience alexithymia Discovered in 1972, Alexithymia is not considered a diagnosis but a way for patients to easier describe their experiences. Alexithymia has been confused has been confused as depression, autism or even schizophrenia. Because patients with Alexithymia have a difficulty expressing their emotions to others and so are often left to leave emotions bottled up. This normally leads to depression, self harm or more common suicide.

This is a simplified version of what Alexithymia is that I felt was necessary to include.


Right now I am hoping I will raise awareness to people that mental illnesses are not just Depression and Anxiety. That there is more to the list. My only question for this entire thing is how many people will actually remember this information and keep it in their mind that mental illnesses are more complicated that they seem.


Bibliography


Some Risks Aren't Meant To Be Taken

https://www.libertymutual.com/safe-and-smart-living/blog-posts/teen-texting-and-driving-statistics

In today’s modern world, teenagers are sometimes the causes of their own accidental deaths. I know most parents are nervous about their teens driving and also that most teens now have smartphones. Having these two things in the same car are very hazardous to the teens and other drivers on the roads. I’m not saying that teens having the ability to drive without their parents at their side, but I’m just saying that teens should be more careful and more aware of what they are getting themselves into. I chose teen driving distractions as my topic because I feel as though no one really talks about it and because they are the main cause of most deaths. Another thing is that teenagers are being allowed to get their permit at the age of 15, and I know from being a teen myself, that we all have new technology that gets us very distracted and keeps getting more and more distracting every time Apple comes out with a new phone, etc. People need to be more aware, especially parents, about what their child is doing in the car while driving when the parents aren’t with them. That’s what I’m here to talk about.


http://blog.leizerman.com/tag/ohio-distracted-driver/

This is a picture of an Ohio teenage driver that is being distracted by their phone.


Ok, so we all know that cellphones are good for uses like texting, calling and checking social media, but those things can wait until you are not in a moving vehicle, that you are driving. This might be a habit for some people, and it is not a good one. People need to be more aware of what they might be getting themselves into before they actually go out and do it. Did you know that 

in 2011, 933 passengers died with a teenager behind the wheel and that having two or more passengers triples the risk of a fatal death with a teen at the wheel. This issue may seem scary to some people, but most of you are scared that this might happen to you. When you were little, your parents told you what was right and what was wrong and they probably still do, but this time they can say what they were unable to tell you about rights and wrongs before. Some of those things may be how you shouldn’t drink and drive, but sometimes it might be not to drive in the dark with another teen passenger.

http://weimarlaw.com/car-accidents-teen-drivers-top-4-causes-of-accidents-caused-by-teens-pt-1/

Distracted driving and speeding are most dangerous with teen drivers, as shown in this picture.


Something that I wonder is why, even though people sometimes talk about this issue, teens still go out in the world of driving and still continue to do these kinds of things. It really doesn’t make that much sense to me, even after they are told what the consequences are if this were to happen. According to studies: with peer passengers in the car, male teen drivers were almost six times more likely to perform an illegal maneuver and twice more likely to act aggressively before crashing than when driving alone. On the other hand, female teen drivers rarely drove aggressively before crashing, regardless of the presence of peer passengers. This is not my opinion, this is just a statistic, and I can’t really say that I agree with this because I have never experienced it for myself. My whole point overall is be safe while driving and texting and checking your emails can wait. “ The Number 1 rule is to keep yourself safe, … Nothing is more precious than your life and the lives of your loved ones.” - Steve West


PAWS … That is Not Right!!!!!!

  PAWS … That is Not Right!

    Many people think that animal abuse is just when an animal gets harmed by a human, then person gets charged and everything is fine. Well, that is not how things are. Animal abuse is way more detailed than a person just harming your pet. Therefore, throughout this project I will be informing the public that animal abuse is a way bigger issue than our community views it. I am interested and prefer to use this topic than any other one because I have a lot of history with animals that were abuse and simply to educate the public. Furthermore, I see animals as living creature, humans are living creatures, in the end I view most animals the way I view strangers. I am also interested because lately overheard people talking about a dog getting brutally abused by it owners and the person talking did not know what to do at all.

This picture is a picture of a circus elephant get chained up tightly and forced to stand against its will.


     Now lets get to the bigger and more general picture. If you never heard of animal abuse or just simply do not know what it is it is when an animal gets harmed, gets neglected, and does not care for an animal responsibly by a person. For instance, a if person was cruel and took their anger out on their own pet that would still be illegal and inhumane. Also, To hurt or to be cruel to an animal would be against the law no matter what.

This shows how big of a difference between the dogs life when it was neglected and saved. Notice how grateful and happy he or she looks!


    This the significance of the public being aware of the issue is really serious.The issue of animal abuse does not only have negative impact on animals but it does a negative effect on humans. When someone abuses an animal  they may be an more likely to cause violence. Also, if a child witnesses animal abuse they are at greater risk of becoming abusers themselves!  Moving on, if you think that think that animals were only abuse in the ways I you obviously never heard of the brutal acts of factory farming. When you buy food products from an animal such eggs,milk, and meats 99% of the time they are from factory farms. Factory farms are focused on getting money, what is easier, spending the least amount of money at the price of the animals’ life because they are heartless and greedy. For example, they genetically alter animals’ bodies so they can grow extra limbs. Another example is that  some animals for meat are chained up inside so they can never see the sunlight and there bones are so weak the literally can’t stand up. In the end, I just want to put out there that animals abuse is so much more to me and this is only the beginning.

This images show how bad factory farms are because they keep multiple animals is a little lot.

    As I am wrapping this up I am still thinking a lot.  Would people still look at animal abuse as a useless topic to push away and forget about or would they look as it really informed and serious now. For example, would a person who thought the world had bigger problems now look at animal abuse as a serious issue that we need to fix. I am hoping that I could talk more about the topic because I know so much more types of animal abuses such as animal testing, puppy mills, slaughterhouses, circuses and so much more.

Annotated Bibliography:

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/document/d/18BMK1fUQllRkI2MlYM-Q-U79AdxJW6gX7x5PIa-Mvyk/edit?usp=sharing


Who Owns My Body?


For my English class passion project, I decided to delve into the world of women’s reproductive freedom. This includes topics like abortion, birth control, and sex education. Reproductive freedom for women is not something that I think should be an issue in this country. It amazes me that our society has twisted into a place where women cannot always control what happens to their bodies. (Maybe I should say twisted back, because twenty years ago, women had full rights to abortion and were not being taught an abstinence-only sex education.) I am interested in this topic because it is one that may very easily affect me as a young woman. I would like to know exactly what we future mothers and partners have access to and what rights we have regarding our own bodies, and I think it is important for my generation to understand these things so we can rise to our full potential and fight for ourselves.

I am pro-choice but anti-abortion. Though the procedure itself is one of the safest ones available, I can completely understand how some consider it “murder.” The idea of killing a growing baby inside a woman’s body is one that we all cringe at, no matter our political tendencies. However, I believe that since birth and motherhood are such unbelievably weighty things, the decision of what to do with an unwanted pregnancy should always be a choice; women everywhere should not have to keep a baby for which they truly believe they could not care. The decision is already such a fiercely personal and difficult one, and to have some politicians waving their fingers at a woman and telling her she will go to Hell if she gets an abortion is beyond maddening. Currently, one in three women around the world has an abortion, though this number may be decreasing since access to abortion clinics is becoming more and more limited. (Also, does Hell really have room for one-third of our planet’s females?)

If the people behind pro-life organizations and campaigns were mostly women, I think this would be a more fair fight (though, realistically, no fight would really exist). However, this is not the case.


The panel for the House Oversight and Government Reform committee hearing on birth control access


This infuriating picture is of a committee overhearing a case about birth control by an all male panel. A panel of people who will never, ever be able to become pregnant; they will never be the victim of rape and then have to live with the occasional consequence of a baby, or become accidentally pregnant at the age of fifteen. Yes, an abortion is ideally a decision made by both parents, not just the woman, but in the end, it is the woman’s body that suffers, and has to bear the child; the man is able to simply walk away, while the woman is not.

The entire cycle by the government is one that is unwinnable. More conservative politicians claim they want no abortions, but then limit access to sex education and decent contraceptives, resulting in more unwanted pregnancies, further resulting in more desire for abortions. Moreover, women who decide not to get an abortion (like the government and these politicians want) end up receiving very little support from their states. Basically, the government is saying, “Don’t get an abortion and keep your baby...what, you want help with that baby since you are single, already have four kids, and are working for under minimum wage? Pfft. No way.”

I would like to learn more about what my generation of young women can do to ensure we have control of what happens to our bodies. I want to know how the government chooses who is in charge of our reproductive freedom laws and how this fight can be made more fair. My knowledge of how the government functions is very minimal, and I’d like to figure out who exactly is behind the choices regarding reproductive freedom.


(Senate Candidate Todd Akin claiming that women can control when they become pregnant - people like this, with such an inaccurate idea of how the female body functions is attempting to make decisions regarding our reproductive freedom and rights)


Annotated Bibliography



North Korea, an International Wildcard.


North Korea, dangerous enemies of western civilization or oppressed underdogs?

Kim Jong Un, a tyrannical dictator, or just a guy with an ego problem?

What really is North Korea? Why should we be scared of this tiny country on the other side of the world? The answer is; I don't know. I do know that I want to find out more about this potential problem.


This wildcard of a country, it intrigues me. Its mysterious and powerful, or is it? I wonder about why we(America) don't just take a couple missiles and eradicate this nasty spot on the canvas of the world. The answer is simple; they hold strong economic ties. Waging war with North Korea would be waging war with China and Russia also, it would start World War Three and that simply is not an option. No one wants war especially us, as a generally ‘happy’ and peaceful country. But that is only the cover to the book of war with North Korea, within the pages we find a less obvious but almost as dangerous form of war: Cyber-Terrorism.


I am curious about how the general public views North Korea, and how much they know (if anything) about the country. With the online release of the film The Interview, (after threats from North Korea to bomb theaters that played the film) my guess is that the only information people gathered from the film was that No rth Korea was a joke and not to be taken seriously. I think people should be more informed about this country, because while small they still hold great potential danger.


After doing some research I isolated a few of the problems North Korea presents to us in the U.S.A. these include but are not limited to: They will not cooperate with our requests, including refusing to cancel their nuclear tests after being demanded too mutiple times. North Korea has also been known to throw propagandic insults at other world leaders, in this article from The Guardian, ¨North Korea called the South Korean president a “crafty prostitute” in thrall to her “pimp” Barack Obama who, in a related editorial, was called a “wicked black monkey”¨.

Not only is this country an annoyance, they seem to be telling their people how ‘evil’ freedom of speech and democracy is.


Overall I have learned that this country, while it certainly holds the potential to be dangerous, I do not think it has been so yet. I am slightly scared of this country, and worry about what the future will hold for this ticking time bomb. Until then we all appear to be safe.


Elias


My annotated bibliography lies here.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting Korean People's Army Unit 323

Stereotypes: Where do they begin?

Have you ever heard someone say a belief and it enables you to respond quickly? Most likely you are responding quickly to the situation because you may have had a similar experience to it before. Stereotypes are generalized beliefs about a particular group or class of people. In my words they are opinionated facts formed from common observations. It seems like all stereotypes are based off opinions referring to a Teen Ink post.

A stereotype has the advantage to judge a certain group or class of people based of off multiple encounters. It has a disadvantage to make people ignore differences between individuals. They allow us to think things about people that may or may not be true; this is called being stereotypical. Most stereotypes tend to reveal a negative impression or message. Positive stereotypes are rare. There is no such thing as a positive stereotype because they are all based judges about a particular group. This is only my opinion. It seems like all issues in the world are formed off of opinions.

I am interested in this topic because it is not a common study. As said in the NY Times stereotypes are issues involving ignorance, racism, and hypocrisy. The main focus here is how stereotypes affect youth. How does one become aware of a stereotype? Do they understand the effects of it? I plan to discover more issues involving this topic. Also, I hope to gather as much information as I can from people willing to share their experiences.


Untitled drawing (1)
Untitled drawing (1)
https://meanmemes.wordpress.com/categories/racial-memes/
A meme made to convey a stereotype based off of black people. This meme's purpose is to entertain youth mostly through social media.

Leukemia: They Lived!

Ribbon
Ribbon

25% of all kids who are diagnosed with cancer will die. That’s not a lie. It’s actually very far from it. I am interested in this topic because I have seen numerous amounts of people in my life battle this. Some reigned victories. Others didn't have the same fate. I saw it as a “necessity” in the world, rather than a “plague”. I didn't believe that cancer had meaning, even though it does. People are diagnosed with this life-threatening illness and I believed that they would have to live with it. I kept that mindset until my best friend perished from this illness. That’s finally when I realized that this is a dilemma that can’t be overlooked, and when I spotted the perfect opportunity, I would retaliate with all of the vigor I had within me. Cancer, more commonly distinguished as Leukemia with children, can be very life-changing. There are multiple ways that people are trying to thwart cancer from spreading throughout the world. But they don’t always have enough motivation and/or support to drive them through. It’s an illness that has yet to be terminated, and it is very difficult to avoid. Without a cure, that makes these patients’ chances slim.


Leukemia Charts
Leukemia Charts

Leukemia is NOT contagious, but it is still possible to obtain. That doesn't mean that you’re not automatically safe without any real recognition. Leukemia is a blood cancer that is diagnosed every 3 minutes. Leukemia is rapidly affecting adolescents between the ages of 6-16, and the rate of diagnosis is going along steadily. It can even appear in adults that follow different methods and/or practices. Some of those practices, for example, are radiation, atomic bomb explosions, radiation therapy, smoking, chemotherapy, down syndrome, and even family lineage. To provide hope, Leukemia is not incurable. There are indeed many different ways to slow down and eventually cease the rapid growth of leukemia, but this method is not always successful. Chemotherapy is also prevented, since it is also a cause for this cancer to appear and grow.

With this project, I am still wondering how it will end up. I want to enlighten people, diagnosed or not, with some kind of hope for the future. There are many people who are living as captives to this illness and there are no found cures for them to escape it. I will conduct as much research as possible and provide my information to those who need it the most. While conducting my research, I want to find out if there is some breaking research that could possibly cease Leukemia altogether. As we move towards more futuristic equipment and technology, some medication  that could uphold this task isn't too far away to save the estimated 156,420 people with this disease.

Annotated Bibliography:

Labeling Women- Kara Lazorko

For my Passion, Information, and change, I have chosen to do my project about labeling women. This topic was my biggest interest, because it seems to be a common issue, and the spotlight put upon it, is not very bright.

Now and days, it seems as if every woman has a name that is not her own, and it’s based off other people’s opinions. Whether sexual or not, calling a female a name can easily make it seem as if that woman is below you in authority wise or just in general. In most cases, the labels are sexual and sometimes do not even fit the person who that label is being put on. For example, calling a female a hoe or a slut, and for all you know that female could be a virgin. A lot of words similar to slut and hoe, have also been commonly used and given to women. Although they all have different meanings, they still revolve around this sexual idea.

Source: Stop Labeling Women: tumblr


For Image above: Why should we have names other than our own, and just be who we want to be?


One word that has developed in many people’s vocabulary is the word ¨thot.¨ The funny thing is that it’s not even a word, it is an acronym. It stands for ¨That hoe over there.¨ Again, giving a female a sexual named based off of her appearance that does not always seem to match, just degrades the person she is. In most cases, people who use these type of terms, do not even know the real definition of them. Women who defend themselves suddenly become feminist, and are labeled sexist.¨Who decided that you can’t be a feminist if you appreciate a man opening a door for you? Who made the call that you aren’t strong and independent if you are in a relationship? Who told us that we can’t be freaked out by spiders and be Wonder Woman at the same time? We can do whatever we want, and it’s time that we stopped trying to define ourselves and each other, and spent more time on simply just being our authentic selves,¨ according to an article from Hello Giggles.

Source: Stop Labeling Women

Image above: Not every label you give a woman has to be sexual, but it still can degrade who they are.¨Women describe being given gender-specific labels with negative connotations when they work hard or perform well – where, they ask, are the male equivalents for phrases such as ‘ball-breaker’, ‘battleaxe’ or ‘harridan’? Meanwhile labels like ‘doll’, ‘baby’ and ‘sweetie’ infantilise women,¨ according to The Independent.

This issue is very significant, because with these labels put on women, it affects how their performance is seen at work. In this case, it prevents women from being in a healthy relationship, get a good job, and even have a good social life. One label or a million, you are not allowing someone to be themselves without having to be put into a certain category.

My Bibliography

Immigration - A Never Ending Source of Controversy

I have been interested in immigration to the United States for a while now, mostly because it is an almost endless topic with so many great details behind it. I also had a teacher at my old school who was an immigrant, and it was a long and hard process for her to become a citizen, which made me want to look more into the topic.

Immigration to the United States has become more of a problem throughout the years, and it is holding back people who seek better opportunities or a new beginning. More than 10 million undocumented people currently reside in the United States, and the numbers are increasing by 700,000 people each year. Immigrants who come to the United States face many difficulties in gaining residencies and citizenship to the country. To receive a green card (resident alien status) the immigrant must satisfy requirements set by the government. Some of the qualifications include: having a family member who will be able to sponsor you while you reside in the country, have a job inside the country, or be a refugee who will be able to meet the definition of refugee and have special interest to the United States. The problem that comes after you receive your green card is that an immigrant must follow the 10 steps to naturalization. Then the subsequent issue is that they must be able to pass a test proving that they are able to speak, write, and read in English, and have knowledge on U.S. history. Finally they must also be able to pass a Catch 22 test. They must be considered a to be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States during all relevant periods under the law - US Citizenship and Immigration Services. Which is saying that if you have committed a crime then you aren’t eligible to become a U.S. citizen, however most of the immigrants who come to the U.S. have to come illegally. Despite the many issues that come with immigration the number of people who come to the United States is still growing.





Here is a graph showing the number of Immigrants coming to the U.S. in previous years

http://www.immigrationeis.org/sites/default/files/images/charts/immigration_into_us_1.gif


Another issue that has come with immigrants is their effect on the economy. They come to the United States to work for little pay in the jobs that Americans reject, but then we blame the immigrants for stealing away from them. There are really many benefits that immigrants have on the economy, but are still looked down on because of the costs, one of which is that other people who are already citizens have to compensate for things that immigrants can’t pay for. If an illegal immigrant sends a child to public school, other parents would have to compensate for payments that might need to be made because they are unable to pay the government due to their risk of being discovered and deported. If an illegal immigrant is at risk of being deported then they must go into hiding. There are many organizations around the country that help keep undercover immigrants safe. For example there is an organization called Sanctuary Philadelphia which hides immigrants in churches around Philadelphia until they have been granted residency to the country.





This is a picture of where most immigrants are located in the U.S.

http://blogs.forrester.com/f/b/_tp/.a/6a00d8341c50bf53ef0120a5528170970b-pi



The real problem with illegal immigration is security, not the threat to the economy. Despite the fears that immigrants will take over the nation’s economy, the issue that hides behind is that Americans are afraid for security reasons. They are afraid of a possible terrorist attack, or government infiltration that could end in an American tragedy. This is the opinion of many, but not all Americans.

It is important for people to know, that our country, the United States of America, a country made up of immigrants is now making it more difficult than ever for people to be a part of our nation. This is all based on a matter of rights, Americans are refusing to give immigrants their constitutional rights, and I feel our country should stop contradicting itself.


Now I would like to get a first hand perspective on the immigration process, and also get more of an outlook from a legal standpoint.

To read my bibliography click here!


Discrimination of Work and Education with a Disability

The Passion, Information, Change is the You and the World project. This project is picking a topic that you feel very strongly about and finding a way to change the world. During this project you will go through three stages, the passion which is the issue, the information which is consistent throughout the project and is where you gather up all of your knowledge about your passion, and then the change which is where you make the difference.

My passion is work and education with a disability. I want to know why certain people’s disabilities are discriminated more than others.This issue is important because some people don’t think that discrimination with a disability is still going on but it is. The laws that are put in place to protect the disabled are not used to the fullest extent.

Some disabilities are discriminated more than others. Disabilities that are more physical are the ones that are targeted the most. Someone with  down syndrome is more likely to be discriminated than someone than dyslexia. There are both disabilities but down syndrome has a physical effect and people are more likely to judge.

There are laws that prevent discrimination if you have a disability. These laws are enforced so a qualified  individual is treated equally even if they are disabled. Finding a job is hard in itself but it is especially hard if you have a disability. The definition of a disability is a physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities. Everybody is different, there is no need to judge someone because of the way they learn. Discrimination means the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people or things, especially on the grounds of race, age, or sex.

Statistics show 36 million people have some type of disability. The percentage of someone having a disability and being employed is 4.6% in the United States.

Chart with percentages of disabled working individuals:http://www.dailyyonder.com/geography-disability/2011/11/29/3619

    In some schools the disabled are separated from the rest. People with disabilities learn differently and they get modified classes because of it but that is only in some schools. This should be in all schools. In some cases children even get abused in their schools. Only 36% of students with a disability take special needs classes. Special needs children are not given the proper care that they need.

Picture saying all children can learn: https://weawayne.wordpress.com/

   

    There are even stereotypes towards people with disabilities. Some are…

  • People with disabilities are always miserable

  • Should be treated differently

  • All deaf people can read lips

  • People with disabilities always need help

  • Always confined to a wheelchair

    I want to go more into detail about this issue and know more information about it. I hope by reading this people understand a little more how much discrimination really happens to people with disabilities. I am looking forward to actually making a difference in our community and making a difference.

More Than a Distraction, More Than a Woman… The Fight For Feminism

The topic I have chosen for my You and the World  project is feminism. It is something that I recently became really passionate about, but let me get this clear before I begin. Feminism isn't supposed to be a battle of the sexes, but one common goal that everyone is striving for, as mentioned in  this article.

Feminism not like chart.gif

The chart above is just one example of why people should fight for feminism. There is a pretty obvious number of people who do not respect at home mothers and do not work for equal rights, rather than people who do not like most men. This issue may not seem very large compared to other things, but it does link to bigger issues in the world. This can be shown by the statistics on this page. One in every ten rape victims are men. That means the other 9 are women. This is most likely due to the fact that women are treated as if they are less valuable than a man, are portrayed as weaker than a man  and are more objectified than men. I'm not saying this doesn't happen to men, but there's a 90% chance that its more likely to happen to a woman.

Another major issue that has to do with feminism is dress codes. Dress codes are targeted at women and girls. We have more restrictions because we are a “distraction”. I read this article about how a girl had to leave school because of the way she was dressed. Shes fighting for her rights by using the hash tag #IamMoreThanADistraction to spread the word about her cause. I think this is admirable because she is using social media to do so, and social media is one of the main places where anti feminism takes place.

Feminism is a topic doesn't receive as much attention as it should and for my You and the World project I would like to increase awareness of feminism. Feminism might not be a physical issue, but people can still be victims of anti feminism. As I said before, feminism is not something that should cause full out debates and heated arguments between the sexes, but it should be one common goal for men, women, boys, girls… anyone. Feminism is and gender equality is my goal for the future, what's yours?

Teen Peer Pressure

                             Teenagers Facing Pressure From Peers!

Teen peer-pressure is what I will be basing my project off of. Growing up, I was always affected by this and a lot of my friends struggled with this as well. Every child wants to be liked by their peers in school and some will do anything to receive that acceptance. The topic of peer-pressure interests me because of how much this affected me and other close friends. With teens becoming more and more obsessed with being ¨the popular one¨, I felt that gathering deeper research would be engaging to certain readers. Especially since most of my readers are actually teenagers themselves, this topic can be easier to relate to. Peer-pressure affects a lot of teens around the world, especially when they are attending school.  

http://www.crsmu.com/peer-pressure/positive-peer-pressure/

¨Being accepted by peers is crucial to many teens, and it can affect teens if they are not.¨


Teen peer-pressure is significant because of how many teens it has affected and still affects to this day. According to research from sources I found on this intriguing topic, teen peer-pressure affects around 70% of children at each school. But overall, teen-peer pressure is a common issue for tenagers. All teenagers wants to be accepted in the ¨popular crowd¨ or at least be apart of the cool kids. The Effects of Peer Pressure From research, it states that when this happens teens tend to loosen up and do things that they normally wouldn’t do. Such actions like smoking, drinking, drugs, stealing, and even having sex before ready. I read in my sources that there was a survey that made a compelling conclusion. It states that teens with friends who do drugs and drink alcohol are more likely to do the same. This statement really stood out to me because it’s amazing how much control friends can have over some teens. All parents do is lecture their children on the things not to do, and just because a friend is doing it, now it’s acceptable to join. 


http://trewmunson.wikispaces.com/Peer+Pressure?responseToken=09339a543ef28031e9eed6  a96cbca6764

¨Peer pressure includes teens making big decisions regarding drinking and smoking with with friends that think it is ¨cool.¨

It is important for the readers to know that what you do and say to others really can impact their state of being. And with the information, the readers can think to themselves if they ever felt that they changed themselves because of peers around them. Or think to themselves if they ever made another person feel disliked or unaccepted. The reason why teens give into peer pressure because of friendships and the ¨everyone is doing it¨ factor that can make a teen feel compelled to comply. Giving into the Pressure Combining with a teen’s curiosity this leads to risk taking behavior and why teens give into peer pressure. According to ¨Giving into the Pressure¨ source, teens are accustomed to follow social standards set by their peers.


In conclusion, I wonder what are the things a teen can do to keep themselves in control from pressure they can receive from friends. I wonder what causes a teen to change who they are for others. Is it because some teens feel as though they are not accepted at home and want to attract acceptance from their friends. I am interested in learning how much the use illegal substances affect the pressure put upon teens. Drugs, and even smoking and drinking seems to be the most common activity teens put on their peers, and teenagers follow along to be accepted into the crowd or develop some type of consistent relationship.Troubled Peer Pressure As this project go on, I will like to find certain situations about teens suffering with peer pressure and how it has affected their life as a teenager.


Annotated Bibliography