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Transgender people have a very hard time being a part of normal life. A lot of people have been trying to fight for the transgender community but it’s very taboo to do so.  Transgender teens have a hard time at schools because of bullying and being in able to be “normal.” Normal to most teens are just fitting into the environment around them. There was a case where a student named Nicole Maines could not use the bathroom because she was born a boy. The case was brought to court with the help of Maine Human Rights Commission. The court changed two laws that would require a separate bathrooms based on gender choice.  In the court’s decision, justice warren silver wrote “it has been clearly established  that a student’s psychological well being and Although, in the United States all people are supposed to have equal rights, transgender teens and adults have been discriminated against in their schools, workplaces, communities because people don’t understand why these people want to be the opposite gender.

educational success depend upon being permitted to use the communal bathroom consistent with her gender identi.” (Sharp). This is not easy to understand for many because it’s new and people are not sure why people are transgender. Its very complex but educating helps information flow easier and more consistent when understanding why and who the transgender community are as a whole.  

Adults who are transgender have a hard time being accepted into communities around the United States.  For this reason most transgender adults have become homeless or have been evicted from their homes. People have chosen to discriminate against transgender people and as a result is that they are left with being unequal in the United States and loosing basic humans need. Statistic from National Center for Transgender Equality says that one in five people who are transgender are homeless. Shelter tried to help but failed in doing so because they can’t serve transgender people the same way. Transgender adults are not the only people have problems in communities teenages are have some of the same difficulties and some that are just focused on that group. Lots of youth that are transgender end up in jail as a juvenile. There is evidence that shows that over 300,000 LGBTQ youth that are arrested each year and the LGBT youth make up 5 percent of 7 person the youth in the United States. (Center of american Progress). The reason why this might be happening is that these youth might be in family situations that are not good, there might be abuse, and they could even be homeless. This all effect why LGBTQ youth is in a very unsafe and unhappy environments that can cause these problems.

Unfairly judge Transgender adults have a hard time in the work force. A lot of times people say nothing about what's going on or try to avoid coming out at all. Harassments and unfair treatment to the adults at work.  The Huffpost had an article that talked about big companies having started putting in policies about not discriminating against transgender people. “3 out of 500 fortune 500 companies in 2000 had policies in place but now more than half of those companies do have policies in place.” The reason this is important to know is that it's no protects these companies from lawsuits against them and now people can work freely through the company. The internet has helped transgender people communicate and be more organized and together then feeling like they have no one around them. Connection are made when people are talking and getting together more. But discrimination and harassment still happen in workplaces. According to Center of Progress 41 persent of gay and transgender people have been verbally or physically abused and 26 percent of transgender people have been fired.  There is hidden discrimination and harassment in the workplace that hurts good workers but because they chose to be the opposite gender they are targets.

In a country that says that there is a lot of freedom it's hard to see it when people are put in a corner. It’s not fair  to the people that are doing really good work and trying to be normal. There is a unfairness when it comes to people rights and people that are transgender they are treated like aliens or second hand citizens. Transgender youth should not be bullied or discriminated against to be their true self and adults should be able just have the jobs they won’t will out being abused or harassed. Things have changed over time and got a little better but they can always improve so people feel like they are apart of whatever they are doing. No one should have fear or be hated for something that can’t be changed.

Works Cited

"Coming Out in the Workplace as Transgender." Human Rights Campaign. N.p., 2011. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

"Housing and Homellessness." National Center for Transgender Equality. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Klein, Rebecca. "Maine Court Rules In Favor Of Transgender Pupil." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

National Center for Transgender Equality. "LGBT Workers Continue to Face Unfair Discrimination." National Center for Transgender Equality. N.p., 28 May 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Sharp, David. "Bathroom Ban Violated Transgender Student's Rights: Court." NBC News. N.p., 30 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

Sheridan, Vanessa. "Transgender Inclusion in the Workplace: The Time Is Now." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 22 July 2013. Web. 29 Sept. 2015.

The Loss of Childhood Innocence 9/28/15

Brandon Jones

Air Stream

Knowledge is a powerful tool in the hands of man. Knowledge can both help and hurt people, build and destroy relationships and help determine right from wrong. Because of its power, children are taught to seek knowledge at a rapid pace, which could lead to both a revolutionary and destructive future if it continues. At the wrong time, this knowledge could potentially teach children inappropriate behaviors. Parents believe that exposing their children to vasts amount of knowledge at a young age will aid them in adulthood, however, what they don’t know is that this knowledge could at the same time ruin their innocence.

First, it is important to define what knowledge truly means and everything it entails. According to Dictionary.com, the definition of knowledge is, “the fact or state of knowing; the perception of fact or truth; clear and certain mental apprehension.” When a child first learns the concept of right from wrong, they learn the truth of what is morally acceptable to do and what not to do. Usually, parents and teachers don’t go into detail of what truly constitutes as right and wrong, but instead, a basic black and white explanation, not going into the greys in between. This was to protect the innocence of a child, but times have changed from then. Parents now are so focused on building their children up for “success” that they forget to realize they are opening up a dangerous Pandora’s Box.

A poll was taken in February 2015 on parents and childhood stimulation, where over 87 per cent of parents said they believed that the more stimulation a child received, the more successful they would be.  From seeing that so many parents agree that more stimulation equals more success, it’s safe to say that they are right to an extent. Yes things like stimulation, knowledge and wisdom are key to a successful life as an adult but everything should be done in moderation. This concept that 87% of parents agree on, looks over very important stages of development. Stages that are necessary for further social development

In an article published by the New York Times about the loss of childhood innocence, information came from a Fourth grade teacher in Denver, Colorado talking about a student in her class. the article states, “ As the teacher reported, ''Kids are a lot freer now. Even in the 10 years I've been at this school, there's been a change. The other day, a very innocent-looking little boy came up to me and casually asked me whether a certain sexual act was 'for real.' He used a crude word for it. I asked him to whisper in my ear what he thought the word meant. Well, he knew more details than I myself knew until about five years ago.” This information supports my thesis because it talks about a child who learned about a certain sexual act that clearly shocked and upset the teacher. It’s likely that prior to learning about the sexual act, the boy knew very little to nothing about sex. By gaining the knowledge of this, the boy’s innocence was lost and born from that loss was the curiosity to find out  if what he had learned was true. His thirst for knowledge drove him to want to seek answers to this concept that he knew nothing about but craved to learn.

Even if parents attempt to bring up a child in the best way possible, they must be aware of the influence the outside world has. Parents must be careful of what their children get exposed, to such as the sexualization of young children. Things like this, specifically the sexualization of young girls, can be a huge factor in the loss of innocence. In 2012, researchers did a study to identify self sexualization in young girls and identify factors that protect girls from objectifying themselves. Also psychologists at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois assessed self sexualization in girls, ages 6-9 through the use of paper dolls. The assessment goes on to say that, “Across-the-board, girls chose the "sexy" doll most often. The results were significant in two categories: 68 percent of the girls said the doll looked how she wanted to look, and 72 percent said she was more popular than the non-sexy doll.” Other studies have shown that “sexiness” boosts popularity in girls but not boys. Needless to say, young girls and boys should not have to feel the pressures popularity through sexualization. These pressures cause children to explore their sexuality at too young of an age and it needs to be stopped.

If parents ever want to combat the loss of childhood innocence, they need to be mindful of what their children are exposed to. They need to focus on nurturing their children instead of being too concerned with success that loose sight of what is important. Parents are responsible for teaching their children what they will need later in life but everything must be done in moderation. If this is not done their might be irreparable damage done to children because of the actions of their parents.

Work Cited:

1. Winn, Marie. "THE LOSS OF CHILDHOOD." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 May 1983. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

<http://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/08/magazine/the-loss-of-childhood.html>

     2. "Knowledge." Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2015.

<http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/knowledge>

     3. Abbasi, Jennifer. "Why 6-Year-Old Girls Want To Be Sexy (STUDY)."Huffington Post. LiveScience, 16 July 2012. Web.

Why must students sit still for long periods of the day? This practice is normal in schools around the world. But how does this affect the health of the student mentally and physically? This trivial thing could be the root of most of the problems that affect students today. Sitting for too long in schools causes mental and physical health problems and kids are being over-diagnosed with ADHD or other attention disorders because  

6.4 million kids, ranging from the ages 6-17  are diagnosed with ADHD each year. Most of the referrals come from teachers who have students that no longer sit still and pay attention. The referrals causes kids to be put on medication to combat ADHD and other Attention deficit disorders when they may not actually need them.  Todd Elder, a man who conducted research on the number of students misdiagnosed with attention disorders stated “ADHD is the most commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder for kids in the United States, with at least 4.5 million diagnoses among children under age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”  Elder also states that 20% of the children diagnosed were misdiagnosed.

The more kids diagnosed with ADHD means more kids with medication to combat it, which  means the more money the companies that sell the meds make. The only problem is that some of those kids are misdiagnosed and therefore wrongfully medicated, which could have negative effects on that child’s life. Not to mention the meds that the children are given and the side affects that come with are  detrimental to the child health, especially when that said child  does not need the medication in the first place. Also, the symptoms for ADHD are things that people deal with all the time. Inattention? Most students procrastinate or are disorganized. Hyperactivity? Most schools are in for 7 hours a day with an average of  a 30 minute lunch. This means that most students are sitting in class most of that time. Now depending on whether or not the school has a PE class or recess there is no time to get up a move around, so expect the kids in class to want to get up and move around.

Angela Hanscom, a therapist in maryland decide to get to the root of the reason why students couldn't sit still during school and what she found out shocked her. Angela recounts her experience by stating  “I’ve been sitting for the past 90 excruciating minutes. I look down at my leg and notice it is bouncing. Great, I think to myself, now I’m fidgeting!” Angela realized that she couldn’t even sit through the same classes that students go through. She’s the example that people can’t expect  kids to sit through 90 minutes of nothing but listening when adults can not even do it. This proves that the school system must change to prevent students from damaging their maturing bodies and having been put on medication that they don't even need.

If schools stopped to think about it, they would realize that kids not paying attention or sitting still is not just linked to ADHD but also problems with the school system as well. The school system and the way they set of classes are reason enough for the many misdiagnosed with ADHD. If one wants that to stop then the school system must change.

Work Cited

"Nearly 1 Million Children Potentially Misdiagnosed with ADHD." MSUToday. Todd Elder, 17 Aug. 2010.Web.12Oct.2015.http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2010/nearly-1-million-children-potentially-misdiagnosed-with-adhd/

"ADHD and ADD Symptoms: Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity."WebMD. WebMD, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/guide/adhd-symptoms

Levine, James A. "Adult Health." Sitting Risks: How Harmful Is Too Much Sitting? Mayo Clinic, n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/sitting/faq-20058005

Cox, John Woodrow. "A Therapist Goes to Middle School and Tries to Sit Still and Focus. She Can’t. Neither Can the Kids." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 3 Dec. 2014. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/12/03/a-therapist-goes-to-middle-school-and-tries-to-sit-still-and-focus-she-cant-neither-can-the-kids/

"Why Sitting Too Much Is Bad for Your Health." - Live Well. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Oct. 2015.

http://www.nhs.uk/livewell/fitness/pages/sitting-and-sedentary-behaviour-are-bad-for-your-health.aspx

Testing Anxiety

Physical, Emotional, and Behavioral are apart of the symptoms for test anxiety.This is commonly as referred to test anxiety.  Test anxiety is when someone forgets everything they studied for, gets nervous, zones out, and can’t form a response. In schools all over the country there are tests that stress the students out. Schools are forcing them to take these tests because they don’t care if they have a testing problem.

Each symptoms of test anxiety have different causes.The Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) gives a detailed list of these Symptoms, and here are a few “Physical; Headaches, Nausea, shortness of breath.Emotional; Anger, fear.Behavioral; can’t focus, and comparing self to others.” These are the most common of the symptoms of test anxiety. Although these symptoms can be all caused by their self confidence being lowered. The physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms are all caused by the stress they are being put under to do amazing on this test.

There are ways to control the anxiety before a test. At Mercy college a student wrote a paper giving tips and facts, to help control anxiety.  The student that wrote this paper wrote a tip to help change someone’s mindset on this subject.  “Change your attitude about exams. Look at it as something that is a fact of being a student, a barrier to hurdle; necessary for the teacher to make sure you know what you are supposed to know.” What the person is trying to explain is that there the exam is simply there for the teacher to see if students are understanding what is being teached/taught.   

On Cal Poly in their student academic service they have a list of what may help someone stay calm before testing. In their subsection what to do at least a week before the exam says, “ Don’t talk to other students before the exam because you might get confused. Other students may be suffering from test anxiety and they can make you feel anxious if they start asking you questions. Remember :it’s a solo experience.” When asked students who have test anxiety might say that they are stressing out about failing this test. But on closer inspection, their self confidence is really low.

Work cited:

• "Test Anxiety | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA." Test Anxiety | Anxiety and Depression Association of America, ADAA. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. http://www.adaa.org/living-with-anxiety/children/test-anxiety

• Nathan, Wendy. "Test Anxiety Facts and Test Tips." Web. 13 Oct. 2015. http://www.mercycollege.edu/images/uploads/pdfs/Test-Anxiety-Facts.pdf

• "Test Anxiety." - Academic Skills Center: Study Skills Library. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Donald Trump is a man of many talents and successful at it all his life. He has been is the business game for a long time and successful at it all his life. On June 16, 2015 he decided to use his business skills to try to run for president. Many people thought of him as a joke or took him very seriously. Many famous comedians would make jokes about him. However, other people praised him because of his supposed sturdiness and strong will. As a result, Donald Trump is ahead in the polls because people view him as a joke or a blessing

When Trump announced that he would run for president; many people laughed, and many people rejoiced. Some citizens believe that this country was so outplaced, destroyed & lost that Trump is the only & best answer for America. Some of his supporters were asked why do they support Trump and many of them had mixed reviews but some stood out from the crowd. One support stated, “Politicians spend no time helping them. Black lives matter more and illegal immigrants who break the law get a free pass. Evangelicals in this country no longer feel they have the right to religious freedom and have watched what they perceive as a sacred institution in marriage gutted. All the while, politicians they voted for to represent them just plain don’t.”(theatlantic.com) This supporters believed that Trump was the answer to america's problem. Another supporters stated, “Trump Has Successfully Run Large Organizations” he explained that “He(Trump) leads an enormous, diversified organization that is worth billions. This requires leadership. Leadership, by the way, is different from knowledge. When you lead a large organization you set vision, goals and expect results. You do not know every detail of every level of your organization. You can’t. The world is just too complicated. You delegate and empower. You can get information when you need it and the president has no shortage of people ready to educate him on issues.” The supporter related the country to one of Trump organizations which is completely false. While running an organization can affect not a lot of people, running the country means that he has every single person in that country’s life in his hands and every decision you make can affect someone for the rest of there life good or bad. It would not be right nor correct to compare his business skills to how he will run as president.

While many supporters were serious for him becoming president, many saw it as a joke. They mostly wanted Trump to become president because they thought it would be funny. Most of these opinions are coming from white americans because they know Trumps action will not directly affect them. In the same article, some of his supporters were asked why do they support Trump. One stated,  “I wanted to explain why I'd vote for Trump...1)His desire to be a successful president to feed his ego could paradoxically motivate him to be an extremely willing, conscientious delegate, surrounding himself with effective political operatives so he could stick to his strength of being a showman. 2) Partly I just want to watch the chaos unfold if a purely ego-driven man were to experience success with a presidential run…...”(theatlantic.com) Another supporter states, I would like to offer my reasoning for supporting Trump. I know he would do a pretty terrible job at this point, but I really am at the point of letting the whole thing burn down and explode. Trump would help us get there faster and more efficiently. Like the joker from The Dark Knight, I just want to see the world burn. I guess I am an anarchist in that respect. Once it's all burnt down maybe we can have that constitutional convention we really need to fix things and get this country back on track if it still exists. Happy Friday. If you do decide to publish please include the email signature below.” This supporter obviously didn't not care who won and just wanted a good laugh out of the situation.  

Some people ask why support a candidate they think is a joke. It is a combination of believing  that their actions will not affect them and they do not know a lot of information. A supporter of the Trump campaign was interviewed and asked why they support trump and stated, “Why trust Trump? The political system has been set up against the public for years……..The presidency is a joke! Trump is the wild card. Do I trust him? Not necessarily…”(theatlantic.com) The supporter does not even like the idea of presidency and doesn’t support it but is attending a rally for someone who wants to become the president. This shows how some people will make a decision without thinking and will not care what happens on the future.

These show that there is a wide spectrum of supporters for Donald Trump. Some are for selfish reasons and some are for outrageous reason but at the end of the day people still support him.

Work cited

Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.

"Donald Trump Biography." - Family, Childhood, Children, Parents, Story, Wife, School, Information, Born, College, Contract. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2015.

In conclusion, every sport has their good side every sport is healthy every sport has a good benefit. The NFL can become one of the greatest and be a great influence for the next generation. The life of other teenagers depend on NFL, they are what makes teenagers who they are. Sometimes when the teenager receive their training and gain skills, sometimes the football player tend to push themselves harder and try to be more aggressive on winning because losing isn’t an option.

A grade is not objective -- it’s up to the  teacher’s standard of what is considered just okay versus what is considered excellent. By that logic, a student can do the same work but be deemed intelligent by one teacher and average to another. This will leave a student confused and take away their ability to accurately gauge their own intelligence. Grades are not a good incentive for doing good work in school because it is less about learning, but more so based upon a person's opinion.  

BBC, published  an article addressing a study done by Stanford University. The study was trying to figure out the effects of praising a child’s abilities or versus telling them that they worked really hard. According to the article, “Praising a child’s intelligence can teach them that this is a fixed trait that they can’t control. It can make them wary of trying anything new in case they don’t maintain their high standards.” If a students gets an A, it means that the student is “advanced”. All the work that a student does is going to maintain their advanced status. If for whatever reason a student was struggling with a certain subject and a received a C or B, they would just push it off because they think that they just aren’t good at the subject. They will not work as hard to get to the A they want because they have a fixed mindset.

Huffingtonpost.com posted an article about a high school student who decided to worry about learning instead of her grades. ” I would focus on actually learning about the topic rather than just doing what was required for the project. My grades on assignments actually improved from this decision and I did make straight A's in all my classes.” The author of the article was trying illustrate that learning is more than trying to pass. When students focus on trying to pass they absorb all the material in class and once the assignment is done they will no longer retain that information. Therefore, striving to get A’s and B’s hinders a person’s ability to gain new, long term knowledge. A person can cheat and find slick ways to get an A or a B and a person could hard really hard and that is not fair nor is it encouraging learning.

On edutopia.org, a website for teachers, posted an article about the effects of a bad teachers on good students. ”A painful few educators regularly appear bored with their subject material, lecture constantly instead of engaging students in intellectual conversation, or even seem to specialize in classroom put-downs.[...], since even hardworking students who face ineffective instruction can end up unhappy in school and incapable of getting much out of their relatively short time in the classroom.” A teacher’s ability to teach is another key factor in the whether or not a student, who wants to learn, will be able to grasp the content. A teacher can be unfit for teaching and the students will suffer, so giving the bad teacher the power to judge whether or not a student deserves a good grade is unfair to the kid. It is unfair to the students because they have to do a lot of work to gain some sort of content from a lesson that wasn’t the best to begin with. In the end, the grade will not reflect the student’s actual intelligence, instead it will only reflect how hard they worked.

When asked, teachers might say that grades are a good incentive for doing good work. But on close inspection, grades do more harm than good. In the end, going to school to get an education is about learning and what a student takes away from it in the long run. However, traditional grades do not support that. Grades do not reflect a person’s knowledge but their work ethic instead, and they tend to do more damage in the long run because they cause less motivated students to fall behind even though they may still be very smart. Over time a student will not

Bibliography

“Is Praising a Child Good or Bad for Them?” BBC. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20140204-is-it-right-to-praise-a-child>

“Punished By Rewards?: A Conversation with Alfie Kohn - Alfie Kohn.” Alfie Kohn. N.p., Feb. 1995. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.alfiekohn.org/article/punished-rewards-article/>

Rubino, Jen. “Grades Vs. Learning.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jen-rubino/grades-vs-learning_b_2525903.html>

“The Secret To Raising Smart Kids.” Scientific American Global RSS. Web. 8 Oct. 2015. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids1>

Teens boy and girls are placed in a position where they have to take responsibilities for a lot of their own actions. This could be caused by the lack of a parental figure in the person’s life. When there isn’t any attention given towards them, there’s no other way than to have another person fill in the spot. On top of working or dealing with pregnancy, teens are also given another huge level of stress everyday due to the amount of work given to them in school. Usually, when a person is stressed, the best thing for their mind is some type of comfort or support. Who wouldn’t want to hear some kind words? In America, a proper education is the main ingredient to succeeding. However, because of the lack of moral support provided for teenagers, or high school students, many follow each other’s footsteps by dropping out of school.

Consider the story of Kenny Buchanan, who dropped out of high school in Schuylkill County, PA. After twenty six years, Kenny realized that maybe his decision of dropping out was a bad idea due to the fall of the economy. This basically meaning that people that most jobs require a high school diploma, etc. Now, Kenny is struggling to find a job, because he does not have a high school diploma. According to an interview from npr.org, Kenny talks about his decision to drop out by stating, “[In] ninth grade, I dropped out of school. I was 18. I flunked twice, I had no interest, and I told my mom 'cause I was living at home at the time, I said, 'I'm done, I'm not going back to school,'" he says.” This shows a perfect example of lack of support. Kenny failed twice and finally spoke out about dropping out of school. Instead of his mother convincing him to stay in school, she apparently agreed to it, showing the lack of support from his parents. What Kenny really needed was some motivation or support from his mother to keep him going despite the amount of times he failed. Although there isn’t a stated reason as to why he failed twice, one thing that could be said is that he wasn’t getting the help and attention that he needed.

Teen pregnancy is a huge crisis in the United States. It is the top country in the world with the highest teen pregnancy rate. According to teenpregnancystatistics.org, “The drop out rates among pregnant teens is 90 percent across the United States.” This shows that more than fifty percent of the students that drop out are female. This is a huge percentage that could possibly show how females are the ones that lack the most support and attention needed.

Consider the story about a teen mom who made the difficult decision to drop out of school. Katie Vance is a teen mom from Charleston, West Virginia and she said, "Once my baby was born, I didn't really have much help with her. My parents were divorced, and my dad was always working. I tried a day care center, but there were issues with them. The father of the baby was still here, but he also worked. I just felt hopeless. I decided I was going to drop out and get my GED, which I did.” This shows that Katie’s decision was influenced by the lack of help and support from a trusted person. Katie was too busy worrying about too many things at once alone that she was not emotionally stabled. She did not talk about her mother, meaning that her mother was not there physically and mentally. Katie may not have been close with her mother and that is the parental presence that she may have needed in order to feel more hopeful since her father and the baby’s dad were both working.

When asked, high school teens might say that they are able to be successful without finishing school. But on closer inspection, it is hard for them to even find jobs because most jobs require a high school diploma. Teens need to be able to feel supported and motivated and if they’re not getting that type of attention, then they don’t feel the need to stay in school and finish because most teens will feel that they don’t have the potential to finish.

Works Cited:

"Drop Out Rates Among Pregnant Teens." Teen Pregnancy Statistics. Teen Pregnancy Statistics, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.teenpregnancystatistics.org/content/drop-out-rates-among-pregnant-teens.html>.

"Making a Difficult Choice: High School Drop Out Tells Her Story."Charleston Gazette-Mail. Charleston Gazette-Mail, 10 Jan. 2014. Web. 9 Nov. 2015.

<http://www.wvgazettemail.com/News/201401100105>

Sanchez, Claudio. "A High School Dropout's Midlife Hardships." School's Out: America's Dropout Crisis. Npr, 28 July 2011. Web. 13 Oct. 2015. <http://www.npr.org/2011/07/28/138741367/a-high-school-dropouts-mid-life-hardships>.

The American Dream

On July 4th, 1776, The Founding Fathers of the United States of America had written the Declaration of Independence. This document told of a particular promise of “certain unalienable Rights, that amongst these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This statement is the crux of the idea known as the American Dream. It promises citizens the ability to live and be whoever they want to be. However, today Americans live in a world where achieving that vision is very difficult to achieve for a great many people in our country. The middle class of this country is dwindling and many do not have access to luxuries such as health care, education and insurance. As a result, People nowadays are beginning to lose faith in the feasibility of the American Dream.

One of the reasons that people are losing faith in the American Dream is because of how hard it is to even start on that path towards wealth and happiness. Middle and lower class citizens often do not have the resources to get this ball, of high social mobility rolling. As Ben Casselman had observed in a study from the analysis blog fivethirtyeight.com, the middle class has not had its wage increase in the past 16 years. Additionally, the number  of middle class households in America is dropping, because The median household income is decreasing for middle class of Americans, while upper class incomes increased. This is causing a slow death of the middle class of America. This causes many people to lose even more opportunities than they had to begin with, which disallows people to progress with their dream.

Another one of these reasons is because of how difficult it is for one to acquire sufficient health care in this country and as wealth slowly drifts away from the middle-class, the cost of medical care is increasingly being born by those families. An annual study by the Milliman actuarial firm shows that the employer-funded portion of healthcare has risen 52 percent since 2007, the first year of the recession. In addition, household costs has increased by an astonishing 73 percent, or 8 percent per year, now averaging out to be $9,144. This means that average household health care costs are increasing as income decreases. This amount of payment can become very strenuous to the average middle-class family.

Another huge obstacle that many middle to lower class citizens is the search for affordable college education. This is not to mention the immense amount of debt many people have borne on their shoulders. Since the year 1985, college costs have risen by 500 percent and the overall consumer price index has risen by 115 percent. Also as of 2013, the estimated cost for tuition at a private university was $130,000 for over four years, excluding the cost for food, lodging, books, and any other expenses. The fact that colleges can be this costly makes it very difficult for the average American citizen to deal with.

The American Dream is beginning to feel like what it exactly is, a dream. Many people may fantasize about having immense amounts of wealth but, very few will actually end up achieving it. Some people have even given themselves a new dream, an “American Dream 2.0” if you will. This new vision consists of the ideas that anyone can go to college if they have the necessary resources, are okay with going into debt, can somehow get the coveted scholarship, are willing to go to community college, or come from a family of means. Their updated “dream” shows that people are beginning to lose faith that they can achieve this vision of wealth and are starting to willingly settle for less. The rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of Happiness may be unalienable but, in the present day, they are also unattainable.

Works cited:

www.cbsnews.com. CBS, 06 09 2015, website, 16 09 2015

Richard Eskow. www.alternet.org. AlterNet. 22 10 2014. website. 16 09 2015

Joe Pinsker. www.theatlantic.com. The Atlantic. 06 15 2015. website. 16 09 2015

Amy Traub, Heather C. McGhee. www.demos.org Demos. 06 06 2013. website. 16 09 2015

  Student Athletes are Still Students

The sports industry brings in one of the largest revenues in the country. College level sports are growing in revenue, now that it consists of the rounds playoff games. This means more ticket sales, merchandise sales, more opportunities for making money. Yet, fans forget these athletes are also students. They advertise their athletic statistics, but what about their grades? College student athletes, particularly those who play football, are given unfair advantages over those who do not play sports because of the revenue the institutions receive from their programs.

Student athletes receiving special treatment from educational institutions has been an issue for well over 30 years. The non-athlete students are not the only people being affected by the disadvantages.  In the mid-1980s, a female professor, at the University of Georgia was fired because she noticed a student’s grade was changed in one of her classes. He was a football player. The professor later filed a lawsuit; the institution claimed to have changed the player’s grade so he was able to compete in a game. An attorney representing the University of Georgia had agreed with Mrs.Kemp’s focus of the suit, that athletes get special treatment. According to a quote taken from his opening statement, he said, ''We may not make a university student out of him, but if we can teach him to read and write, maybe he can work at the post office rather than as a garbage man when he gets through with his athletic career.” There is evidence that the academic institution is more concerned with how the student athletes will make more money after their college career, than how well his education is furthered. Thus, if their athletes go on to be professional players, that may entail that they will possibly donate back to the school that helped reach that career goal. College football programs make up to tens of millions of dollars in donations each year. The number one, top ranked football program, the University of Alabama, made $123,769, 841. The lowest ranked team, the University of Arkansas, made $8,392,852. (ESPN)

Most high school students in their academic career think at least once about college and whether all that money and debt is worth it in the end. With scholarship and financial aid opportunities dwindling, they also wonder could they actually pay for their education. While athletes already have zero debt, and no money coming out of their own pockets for their education and athletic expenses, they are also getting paid for being there. According to reports done by both CBS Sports and Forbes, the universities actually want to pay their football players even more; some universities already pay their players up to $125,000 a year. This includes the cost of their tuition, their room and board fees, their meals, and their coaching/training expenses. This is all considered “payment,” and with major universities with successful football programs considering to play their player even more, this could mean further disadvantages for their other athletic and educational programs. By contrast, most research done in university programs by students are funded by grants. These grants are usually from non-profit organizations wrestling the same cause, alumni from their specific field, etc. While students are struggling to find money to fund their research, education, and tuition, football players are receiving up to six figure salaries. For instance, the University of Michigan receives over 1,000,000 dollars from outside resources for students research; only about $100,000 comes from businesses, non-profits, etc. While, the university can afford to pay the new coach’s $40 million dollar salary, the player’s equipment fees, etc.

Friday Night Lights, the infamous movie and television series, was based on a nonfiction book that  follow a high school football coach in Texas, and his team as they all struggle with their performance in the games and in their lives. Buzz Bissinger, the author of the book, continues to put forth his opinion about the sport of football. Most recently, he wrote an article for the Wall Street Journal commenting on how banning football would allow academic institutions to thrive more. He highlighted an example from the University of Maryland. “The president [of the university], Wallace D. Loh, late last year announced that eight varsity programs would be cut in order to produce a leaner athletic budget, a kindly way of saying that the school would rather save struggling football and basketball programs than keep varsity sports such as track and swimming, in which the vast majority of participants graduate.” This is just further proof of the treatment college level football players receive. So much that, the university is willing to cancel other varsity sports. This could potentially mean that these athletes will lose their athletic full or partial scholarships, if they received one. Therefore, other student athletes from other sports are being affected and cut off, just to fund football players.

College institutions have always posed physical, emotional, and academic challenges to their students. Yet, student athletes who play football only overcome their physical performance obstacles. With their grades being changed by coaches, up to six figure salaries, varsity sports getting cut to fund their program even more, it is clear that there is no limit to the special treatment these student athletes receive. Yet, throughout all of this we can look up their on the field statistics, but what about their off the field statistics from their classes? Student athletes are still students, but to major universities they are only money bags.

Works Cited:

ESPN. ESPN Internet Ventures. Web. 20 Sept. 2015.

<http://espn.go.com/ncaa/revenue>.

"Players about to Get Paid as Money Changes Game in College Athletics." CBSSports.com. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.cbssports.com/collegefootball/writer/dennis-dodd/25083726/players-about-to-get-paid-as-money-changes-game-in-college-athletics>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/leighsteinberg/2013/09/06/time-to-treat-college-athletes-fairly/>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffreydorfman/2013/08/29/pay-college-athletes-theyre-already-paid-up-to-125000year/>.

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/chrissmith/2012/05/07/would-banning-college-football-actually-help-academics/>.

"8 Things You Should Know about Sports Scholarships." CBSNews. CBS Interactive. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.cbsnews.com/news/8-things-you-should-know-about-sports-scholarships/>.

"Why College Football Should Be Banned." WSJ. Web. 21 Sept. 2015. <http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304743704577382292376194220>.

 "The 50 Colleges Spending the Most on Research & Development in 2015." Best Colleges. Web. 7 Nov. 2015.  <http://www.bestcolleges.com/features/colleges-with-highest-research-and-development-expenditures/  >

Schmidt, William. "BENDING THE RULES FOR STUDENT ATHLETES." The New York Times. The New York Times, 13 Jan. 1986. Web. 7 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/1986/01/14/science/education-bending-the-rules-for-student-athletes.html>

 In Philadelphia there are many ways of transportation. Some citizens have their own cars, some citizens have bicycles, which is a great way of exercise and some citizens ride Septa. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority. Septa has helped many citizens get to where they need to be at a certain time. But, Why is Septa's transportation systems so dirty? Passengers leave trash, passengers graffiti, and passengers even “Soils” themselves while riding on Septa. This has been a problem for a while, and Septa has tried to fix it, but these problems still occur. The reason it’s so hard for SEPTA to keep their system clean is because there’s always problems with the passengers of Septa. The reason why people feel that these things are acceptable is because, they know that Septa is a public place. So, if they leave a mess the  person behind them would have to clean up their mess. But, the truth is leaving a public place uncleanly is unacceptable.

 On, Septa passengers have seen many things, like arguments, comedy, even the homeless. One thing that is coming out to the public is that, Septa is infested with bed bugs. Yes, bed bugs. Bed bugs are a parasitic insect that feeds exclusively on blood. While searching through the web, an Article popped up, composed on Philadelphia.cbslocal.com. That shares details of one of Septa's passenger´s horrific experience. ¨I looked between the cracks of the seat and I was like ¨Oh my gosh that´s a Bed bug, says passenger Robert Roberts Jr.¨ This supports my thesis statement because it shows how nasty, disgusting, uncleanly, Septa is. With as many passengers and tourists Septa comes across daily, it would seem that they would keep their transportation systems clean.  This paragraph supports my thesis because it shows how Septa needs to improve their cleaning system on their transit lines. They have bed bugs, which can attach onto passenger, which would put a burden on their life. All Septa has to do is make a cleaning system to keep their transit lines clean.

  On a daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly basis thousands of citizens use Septa in the Pennsylvania areas. As, this may be, Septa lets anyone on, who is eligible to pay the fare price. As long as you have $2.25 you can ride Septa´s transportation system. The thing is since, Septa lets anyone on, they should have rules. Now, they do have rules, but not the one´s that passengers would want to be put in place, like clothing, stench, & etc. And, the workers who have to enforce the rules, are the managers, ceo’s, and operators of Septa.  A recent post on PhillyMag.com shows different passengers, and their state of mind while they are riding Septa´s transportation system. There is 3 images of citizens on this post, One is a woman leaned over probably due to drugs, another is a man with his butt crack showing, and the other image shows another man sleep on the train. Some passengers do not have common decency to respect themselves and others on Septa. This maybe because they feel that the passenger that rides after them, will likely pick up the trash behind them. This shows that Septa has to clean up their policies a little, so passengers can enjoy their ride, and not have to be worried about an accident on a seat or with other passengers on the transportation vehicle.

Obviously, Septa was aware of the problems that they have been having on their transportation system. Details to show that this is true, is that they have launched a campaign in 2014. The campaign is called ¨Dude it's Rude¨. This campaign focuses on the difficulties passengers have on with following rules and being generous to other passengers. On, Septa's website (Septa.org), Septa´s representatives describe  the campaign. Included on the website is images of the posters, that Septa has made for their campaign. On the posters, the text always starts with Dude it's rude, then it shows a message to passengers. Some of the text includes, Dude it's rude: Take your Trash, Watch your language, Don't block the front aisle, etc. Septa knows it has many problems on their transportation system, and they are trying to fix it, but Septa isn´t doing everything they can to make sure that their transportation systems stays clean, and that their passengers stay happy.

   If the passengers of septa stopped to think about it, they would realize that the dirtiness of Septa is not just about the dirtiness of the transit system , but the passengers who ride the transit system as well. Septa has a very corrupt uncleanly system, that has to be kept up to date. They have to fix their bed bug problems, they have to check to see if their passengers are aware and stable enough to ride their transit lines, also they have to enforce rules, not just say it, but enforce it. And, the only people that can do that are the workers of Septa.

Work Cited:

Annotations:

1.

Link (Links to an external site.)

Laughlin, Jason. "Bedbugs on Bus? SEPTA Takes Steps vs. Pesky Pest." Philly.com. The Inquirer, 11 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20150911_Bedbugs_on_bus__SEPTA_takes_steps_vs__pesky_pest.html>.

-Yes my Source is credible, because it is an issue right now, It might be a major issue in the future.

- Yes my Source is relevant, because it speaks on my thesis of why septa buses are really dirty.

- Yes my source is timely, Because it is still occurring.

This inspired me because I always use septa and its disgusting because it has bed bugs on the transportation systems.

2.

Link (Links to an external site.)

"SEPTA | Passenger Etiquette." SEPTA | Passenger Etiquette. Septa. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.septa.org/cs/etiquette/>.

-My source is credible because it gives information to support my thesis statement.

-My source is relevant because, this is still a problem today.

- My source is timely, because people still continue to do things addressed in my source.

This inspired me because I have done some of the things stated in my source, and because people have ate near me and left their trash on the train or bus.

3.

Link (Links to an external site.)

Mathis, Joel. "The Sad Grotesquerie of “People of SEPTA” | News | Philadelphia Magazine." Philadelphia Magazine. PhillyMag.com, 12 Mar. 2014. Web. 17 Sept. 2015. <http://www.phillymag.com/news/2014/03/12/sad-grotesquerie-people-septa/>.

-This is credible because it shows the nastiness of the septa bus or train.

- This is relevant because I just saw something like this last week while I was on septa.

- This is timely because this continues to happen.

- This influenced me to pll up my pants and wear a belt, also it inspired me to watch if people take pictures of me on septa.

4.

Link (Links to an external site.)

Hoff, Alexandria. "Photo Of Possible Bed Bugs On SEPTA Bus Goes Viral, Prompts Action." CBS Philly. CBS Philly, 6 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.

-Yes my Source is credible, because it is an issue right now, It might be a major issue in the future.

- Yes my Source is relevant, because it speaks on my thesis of why septa buses are really dirty.

- Yes my source is timely, Because it is still occurring.

This inspired me because I always use septa and its disgusting because it has bed bugs on the transportation systems.

(Links to an external site.)

What makes America's obesity rate so much higher than the rest of the world's? Maybe it is because we are lazy. Or maybe it's because people do not eat the right things on a regular basis. Whatever the answer maybe “The United States” has a 30% higher obesity rate than the rest of the country. The Obesity rate is this much higher because of cheap unhealthy foods and fast food chains and propaganda they use in multiple places in our everyday lives.

There is an extensive amount of fast food ads being shown daily on national television. So with so much exposure to these ads, speaking specifically ones directed towards young children, it's only obvious that there would be a high child obesity rate in the U.S.  On average preschoolers and young children saw approximately 2.8 fast food ads a day. Also 75% of the average ads shown are on kids websites such as: Nick, Roblox, and Cartoon Network, according to fastfoodmarketing.org.. This data shows how day after day, very young children ages 4-11, are being pumped with ads from fast food companies. These fast food companies spend 4.6 billion dollars a year on advertising for their food. This is important because without advertisements people may not be thinking about fast food as often so they need to keep our brains thinking about it constantly.

Eating healthier foods over the unhealthier fast foods will cost more over time. This obviously makes the choice for unhealthier foods more tempting and reasonable, especially because some people like the taste of fast food better. Also, people that are struggling to get by and need the cheapest food they can get to save money. Carey Polis, a writer for the Huffington Post wrote about how much an average American would be spending on healthier foods in comparison to eating fast and unhealthy foods daily. “The most comprehensive study of its kind indicates that yes, unhealthy food is about $1.50 cheaper per day, or about $550 per year, than healthy food.” This quote helps to show how much more people, on average, would be spending to eat  healthier and that is just a conservative number. There are so many people out in the U.S eating instant ramen everyday and they are sold at a dollar per pack at the most.

Fast food is an extremely unhealthy food choice, and can lead to many health problems to those who consume it regularly. Which sadly is the way it is for many Americans in the United States.  “-young adults who consumed fast food more than twice a week gained 10 more pounds than those who had fast food less than once a week.” -Ivy Morris a writer for SF gate. This quote shows how much of a big difference it makes when you eat fast food one time less per week. So imagine if the only way citizens in The United States could afford food all week long was to eat these unhealthy foods, and what this would be doing to the health conditions of everyone in the long run. This can also lead to later health problems down the road that can greatly decrease one's life span or how well it goes with minimal issues surrounding health.

Everyday people in “The United States” are being pumped with ads fast food restaurants trying hard to keep all of the countries minds occupied with the thought of eating bad foods. While spending billions of dollars a year to continuously keep the ads rolling in every part of media. People taking the cheaper route food in order to save as much money as possible in order to stay on budget due to low income. Also, people paying the consequences of eating unhealthy foods weekly with serious health problems looming down the road of weight gain and lack of proper nutrients. All of these things pile on together to make “The United States” such an obese country.

Works Cited:

-"Just Give Me the FACTS!" Fast Food FACTS — Home. Fast Food F.a.c.t.s, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://fastfoodmarketing.org/>.

-Polis, Carey. "Eating Healthy vs. Unhealthy Will Cost You $550 More Per Year, Study Reveals." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/05/eating-healthy-vs-unhealthy_n_4383633.html>.

-Morris, Ivy. "How Fast Food Affects You Negatively." Healthy Eating. SF Gate, n.d. Web. 06 Oct. 2015. <http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/fast-food-affects-negatively-1728.html>.

                                                                       De-extinction?

Science is fully capable of bringing animals back from extinction, but should they? Many people believe that scientists should not bring back extinct creatures, that they are playing with unnatural things. Many people are also afraid of the idea of bringing animals back to life because of disaster stories like "Jurassic Park" and also religious beliefs that humans should not mess with life and death. However, was it not humans who made these creatures extinct? Using genetic engineering to bring back extinct animals is worthwhile because the great possibilities outweigh the dangers.

 Every animal has a role to play in the ecosystem. When humans kill off certain animals, there are always bad side effects that take place. Animals such as otters balance the ecosystem by keeping sea urchins in check. If otters were to become extinct then the sea urchins would ravage all kelp forest. Thus causing a ripple effect, ending up with many fish, invertebrate, and marine mammals losing a major food source, and possible shelter. If certain extinct animals could be reintroduced into the wild again, then it could help balance the ecosystem. Think of what would happen today if one of the keystone species, such as honey bees, were go to extinct in the next five years. Unfortunately, this situation is entirely possible. According to an article published in GlobalResearch.ca, “Since 2006 beekeepers have been noticing their honeybee populations have been dying off at increasingly rapid rates. Subsequently researchers have been scrambling to come up with an accurate explanation and an effective strategy to save the bees and in turn save us homo sapiens from extinction.” The honey bee does 80% of the pollination around the world. Imagine if all the honey bees were to go extinct today, the side effects would be catastrophic. With this new knowledge of species revival, if there was ever a need to quickly resurrect this species it would be possible. This research could not only save mankind, but all the species that reside on the planet earth. Mankind needs to stop confusing religion with science. This information is not so that scientist can brag about becoming a deity, it is so that one day scientist have a chance at saving life on earth.  

Furthermore, de-extinction is just the start of all the discoveries that could come from bringing back extinct animals. With this type of new knowledge, this could further the understanding of evolution and how humans came to be. In a statement made by Jack Horner the professor of paleontology at Montana State University  he said, “‘Any of us that have any curiosity about how we all got here and where everything came from has to be interested in evolutionary biology," Horner said. "It's basically the blueprint of life on this Earth.’" For centuries man has tried to figure out how this the modern day homo-sapien came to be. Whether it was by some sort of deity or through evolution, in the end much is still a giant mystery. Each time an species is brought back using genetic engineering humans come closer to understanding DNA, and how to unlock its secrets. If bringing back extinct animals helps humans understand how humans have evolved into what they are today, humans should feel some sort of longing to understanding the creation of mankind.

With de-extinction, humans could right the wrongs done by them to the earth. Humans have killed off the Dodo birds, Tasmanian tiger, Gastric brooding frog, etc. It was not by natural causes that these creatures died off but, the actions of people today are to blame. For example on the website livescience.com it said, “Passenger pigeons (Ectopistes migratorius) once blanketed the skies of eastern North America, but hunting and deforestation brought them to extinction 100 years ago. Martha, the last one, died at the Cincinnati Zoo in 1914.”  If given the chance to bring these once abundant creatures back to life, then should there not be anyone against it. These animals have not even been extinct for more than a century so would it not be okay. Also based upon how large the population of this species used to be most likely many carnivores and plants in North America may have relied on the passenger pigeon as a food source and pollinator. With the reintroduction of the passenger pigeon it could help feed animals throughout North America. While also becoming another major pollinator due to the sheer size of each flock, and how far the pigeons travel.   

In conclusion, people should not base their opinion off of a fictional movie there are more practical uses for the de-extinction of certain species. There are real advantages of bringing back extinct animals. De-extinction could be used on many recently extinct animals. Dinosaurs may not get a second chance at life, but would it not be right for humans to bring back the recently extinct animals that are just victims of pollution, deforestation, and global warming. Plus the more scientist understand about how DNA evolves over time to adapts to new environments the better humans will know about the past, and what's the future may hold for Earth's species.

Work Cited:

Sumner, Thomas, and Bjourn Carey. "Stanford's Hank Greely Presents the Ethics of Resurrecting Extinct Species." Stanford University. Standford University, 5 Apr. 2013. Web. 13 Oct. 2015.

Copy & paste citation

Many believe that biases form after multiple experiences with others, and are based in some kind of reality. However, it really only takes one experience to form a concrete belief -- and it's hard to get rid of that belief once formed. Although people know that many racial stereotypes are untrue, it is difficult for individuals to disregard those stereotypes, because people tend to attribute the negative actions of an individual to their entire identity.

Racial stereotyping is defined as the beliefs about distinctive characteristics common to members of a culture, according to a site found on Wikipedia’s reference page. As stated in the quote, these are “common” beliefs formulated by people in society. The fact that the site uses the word “common” implies that those with prejudices educate their children to have a certain prejudice towards others. In addition, because these prejudices are being passed down from generation to generations, a never ending cycle of negative bias is created. Psychology Today expands on this concept, with the idea that human beings have an unconscious prejudice towards those foreign to their own ethnic group, because of their exposure to such ideas during early development. In conclusion, stereotypes that have become almost second nature, outweighing any and all notions that oppose the assumptions of an individual.

Islamophobia is one example of religious stereotyping, which is defined as the fear and hatred of muslims. This kind of resentment escalated after the coordinated 9/11 attacks on America by the terrorist group known as Al Qaeda. The attack resulted in the deaths of over 3,000 Americans as well as the nineteen members of Al Qaeda, who executed the strikes. However, the tragic deaths of U.S citizens were not the only aspects of this violent act that society suffered. According to the Daily Beast, a poll from October of 2001 showed that 47% of Americans had a favorable view of muslim citizens. This percentage of favorable views dropped to about 27% by 2014. This drastic decrease in the polls was a direct result of prejudices formed after only a handful of Muslim citizens, like Al Qaeda, committed violent acts against society. These negative actions effectively branded all muslim citizens as violent terrorist, based on the survey portrayed by the polls.

This kind of negative stereotyping does not only apply to people overseas. On Monday, September 14th, 2015 Texas youth, Ahmed Mohammed, was arrested by police for bringing a homemade clock to school, which his teacher believed to be a bomb. The officers, who arrested him, proceeded to interrogate the frightened teenager about the alleged bomb as well as his intentions. Ahmed stated, on an interview with CNN, that "I built a clock to impress my teacher but when I showed it to her, she thought it was a threat to her." The fact that the teacher believed the clock was a threat, namely a bomb, supports the idea that she had racial bias towards an innocent muslim American, who had the sole intention of impressing his class. In addition, the idea that the clock was believed to be a bomb, which is commonly associated with the notion of terrorism, is a representation of stereotypical views of muslim citizens being a threat to society because of the past actions of a few.

Although this topic may seem to only revolve around minority groups such as Muslim citizens, this is an issue that embodies a barrier between social relations in society. It is the underlying cause that has led to the injustice against countless innocents over the past couple of years. However, this issue has not been fully resolved because of the public's perception, of racial stereotyping, being clouded by their own opinions about other individuals.  

Works Cited

1. Paul, Annie. "Where Bias Begins: The Truth About Stereotypes."Psychology Today. 1 May 1998. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

2. "Teen Ahmed Mohamed Brings Clock to School, Gets Arrested - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, 16 Sept. 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

3. Obeidallah, Dean. "13 Years After 9/11, Anti-Muslim Bigotry Is Worse Than Ever." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

4. "Ethnic Stereotype." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 6 Oct. 2015.

Do teens just do drugs to fit in? well the answer to that question is no. Adults often assume that teens start using drugs due to the social pressure from their peers. However, teens tend to do drugs to achieve happiness. Without knowing the consequences behind doing drugs and the effect it can take on your body and mental state. Drugs might help people achieve happiness, when it’s just a short term happiness not a long term happiness.

The behavior of a parent can highly influence their child choices and lead to drug use and addiction. Exposing their child to drugs is detrimental to the child's health and mental state.  According to this article on teens.drugabuse.gov teens tend to consume drugs or abuse them when thier are feeling down. This is a quote describing the effect drugs have on the human body “Drugs take control of the system, causing large amounts of dopamine to flood the system. This flood of dopamine is what causes the “high” or intense excitement and happiness (sometimes called euphoria) linked with drug use.” When some teens use drugs or drink alcohol they try to get a buzz or a high from it. This high is usually produced by a natural hormone called dopamine. So when people take drugs is that they get this rush of dopamine into their system causing an imbalance of dopamine. This imbalance causes this short term “high”, but once this high goes away their system can never reach that happiness again. This causes people to become depressed and rely on drugs to be happy because of the imbalance in their system.           

Teens around the world are highly influenced mostly by their environment when they are feeling down, also by their parents and friends. Either influence to succeed in life or abuse drugs/alcohol it all starts when they are having a rough time in life. According to this article published by  Drugfree.org, a study shows that teens are most influenced by their surroundings when they are depress. “They see their parents and other adults drinking alcohol, smoking, and, sometimes, abusing other substances.” Since the teens are being exposed to drugs and their parents drinking alcohol there are more likely to do it. Which can lead teens into thinking that drinking alcohol or doing drugs is the key to achieving happiness. When in reality it's only going to have them happiness for a short amount of time.

There are many drugs that can make people happy, but the question is does it really make them happy? Drugs like Prozac and other antidepressants helps control levels of chemicals in your brain called serotonin,which are usually used to treat patients with depression , and other disorders. These drugs are mostly used for psychological condition like anxiety and shyness.  In this article published by nytimes.com. The President council of Bioethics states “ that while antidepressants might make some people happier, they can also substitute for what can truly bring happiness: a sense of satisfaction with one's identity, accomplishments and relationships.” While antidepressants and other drugs might help people achieve happiness, it's not a long term happiness. This happiness is only temporary, because the purpose of this drug is to overflow your system with hormones that's already produced naturally. So once that dopamine gets out of the system the body will get back where it started from or maybe even worse. Although teens abusing drugs may only seem important to parents it should in fact concern anyone who cares about the well being of teens. Doing drugs does achieve happiness for people , but it does not achieve long term happiness. People who want short term happiness are most likely to do drugs. The only different is when taking drugs it causes people to have an imbalance that's unnatural that causes people to become happy for a short period. Also people can never reach that level of happiness on their own, only when on medication or on drugs. There are many drugs that might help people achieve happiness, but that happiness doesn't last forever and that's what most teens don’t consider when abusing such substance.

Work cited -

"Brain and Addiction." NIDA for Teens. National Institute on Drug Abuse, 08 Oct. 2015. Web. 12 Oct. 2015. <https://teens.drugabuse.gov/drug-facts/brain-and-addiction>

Pollack, Andrew. "Can Drugs Make Us Happier? Smarter?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Nov. 2003. Web. 9 Nov. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/science/can-drugs-make-us-happier-smarter.html

Today, people live lives on their own terms, and don’t really care much for others. The same goes for governments/nations. Governments try to do what’s right for their own, and try to block everything else. However, that is impossible to do, especially in today’s economy, where a nation can not run without a trade market that connects them to the fate of other nations. In today’s trade nations created a currency which helps them trade easily, and that currency is the US dollar (USD). In today's economy, the value of the dollar is affected more by the situation in other regions than it is by the United States. As a result, the fate of the United States lies upon other countries/nations.

As one of the most developed countries in the world, the United States has one of the highest GDP per capita of any country. But the United States also is one of the highest debtors in the world. According to the World Bank, in 2013 the government debt of the United States had a 96.1% of GDP, while China had no debt, and Switzerland had less than 24% of GDP. This means that in the United States, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is $16.77 trillion, 96.1% of that, is equal to the debt the US has to other countries. Because of the debt that the US has to other countries, the dollar is losing its value. The currency is not as valuable because the government/currency is “working” for the debt. If other countries were high debtors, like the United States, then the value of the dollar, would not be at risk. According to the World Bank, in 2006 Switzerland had a debt of 33.7% of GDP, while the United States had a debt of 55.3% of GDP, the debts are not the same, but as years passed, Switzerland decreased its debt while the United States debt went through the roof. The situation becoming better for other countries, meant the situation becoming worse for the United States.

The US Dollar (USD)  is held in significant quantities by governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. This makes the dollar the most important currency in the world. Many situations are happening across the world, which is causing doubts about the USD being the reserve currency, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to think about the options they have, if they have to remove the USD as the reserve currency. According to Forbes, "If every nation sold their supply of dollars at the same time, the market would be flooded with dollars, which could cause its value to plummet. This would cause inflation to spike.” The USD can keep being the strongest currency, as long as other nations don’t think about themselves, but think about the USD, and that is very unlikely because every nations wants to survive and thrive. The USD will fall when, other nations get involved, and sell their supply of the USD, causing the value of the USD to crash.

Until 1971, the USD was a currency that was backed up by gold. That meant that every penny that the US owned, there was an amount of gold equal to that penny. Which made it a strong currency, and one of the reasons it was chosen as a reserve currency. According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), the USD is the top currency circulating in the trade market, and the Euro coming close second. As other nations are realizing the debt and value of the dollar, and how it is not backed up by gold, they will soon try to sell their supply of USD and the USD will crash. Realizing that the Euro and the Yen are rising above the USD, will cause the USD to plummet. An article written by The Voice of Reason about the USD says, “The whole world knows that we are much worse off than Greece as the planet’s largest debtor.” Greece is in a lot of debt, that accumulated over years, and the way money was spent for the Greek government led to Greece coming to default. Economists say that it will never be able to get out of debt. If the situation is really bad in Greece, then the United States will fall even harder, if other nations like China, Switzerland, Great Britain, and many others grow and improve their economy.

Most downfalls come from own mistakes, but some downfalls come from the rise of power in others. That is the case, that the USD might face. Although the United States has one of the greatest and most powerful economies and currencies that has ever existed, the downfall of it’s economy will come from other nations and other economies.

Work Cited

Forbes. Forbes Magazine. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2015/07/24/is-the-dollar-about-to-collapse/>.

"Central Government Debt, Total (% of GDP)." Central Government Debt, Total (% of GDP). Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/GC.DOD.TOTL.GD.ZS/countries/CN-US-CH-RU-GB?display=graph>.

"IMF Data." IMF Data. Web. 29 Sept. 2015. <http://www.imf.org/data>.

Cultural appropriation is when people borrow practices and appearances that belong to a separate culture and use them as their own for the sake of fashion and trend. To many people this seems an innocent or superficial practice, like white women wearing Bindis at Coachella or cornrows at the beach. But, more specifically, it is when a dominant culture borrows from a systematically oppressed culture. America has turned a blind eye to the problem, going so far as to poke fun at certain outlets that describe the real, pressing issues behind it. Even those who do not support the practice are often confused by why it is shown in such a negative light by these outlets. Ultimately, the practice of cultural appropriation damages said appropriated culture in ways unseen by the larger American population.

For clarification, cultural appropriation is not the same as assimilation or cultural exchange, because the power imbalance is very different between these three examples. Assimilation is when people from the systematically oppressed culture adopt parts of the dominant culture in order to fit in within that dominant culture. Cultural exchange is when cultures on the same level mutually share their practices and appearances. Neither of these are the same as cultural appropriation because in assimilation, it is a survival tactic, and in cultural exchange, the cultural power balance is equal.

Cultural appropriation spreads misinformation about the culture that it is appropriating in the first place. Many people who support or defend cultural appropriation believe that it is supposed to help the dominant culture learn, but that is not the case. One example that expands on this from modern culture is the story of Pocahontas. In the American Disney movie, this woman is a strong, yet kind girl in a Native American tribe that is approached by an Englishman and eventually falls in love with him. Pocahontas’ real name was Motoaka, and her story is much more grim than many Americans would suspect. She was abducted as a teen on a ship to Jamestown, given to an Englishman, Christened Rebecca, and used as a racist propaganda tool before she died at 21. The culture that Moataka belonged to represented years of diverse culture and important history, but in a sense it seems apparent that the racist propaganda she was subjected to never quite ended. This is because most of the stories that we hear of Pocahontas depict the land as savages, passive, or nonexistent, not to mention an entirely sugarcoated depiction of the real event. Because the dominant culture never represents the real stories of subjugated cultures in popular media, the American population never recognizes that the stories are trivializing and rampant with appropriation to make the dominant culture more comfortable with the gruesome story.  

In the United States, The dominant culture when speaking about cultural appropriation is white people, and one of the largest problems with their appropriation is the fact that when these white people wear or do something that belongs to another culture, it is seen as trendy, hip, or even progressive and inclusive. But when people of color, especially those that belong to the particular culture, do the same thing, they are seen as ‘too ethnic’ and ‘stuck in the past’. This double standard pressures black women to conform especially. When Zendaya wore faux locs at the 2015 Oscars, Fashion Police host and E! red carpet host Giuliana Rancic commented that she “feels like she smells like patchouli oil or weed”. But when Kylie Jenner wore the same faux locs in an a cover story photo shoot in Teen Vogue, attempting a “desert rebel” look, she is praised and described as raw, groundbreaking, fresh, and edgy. Zendaya responded, saying: “There is already harsh criticism of African American hair in society without the help of others who choose to judge others based on the curl of their hair. [I wanted to] showcase [locs] in a positive light, to remind people of color that our hair is good enough.” Not to mention its repercussions outside of praise or insult. In March 2014, AR 670-1 was released by the U.S. Army, a list of policies for the appearance of the soldiers. This list banned braids, locks, and twists with a diameter of a quarter of an inch. It also slandered unauthorized hairstyles by calling them unkempt and matted. The message this sends to the appropriated black community is that black women who wear their hair naturally in styles such as locs are not deserving of praise, acceptance, or even respect in the eyes of white people. It enforces the harmful lie that black natural beauty is not appealing to the general white, American population, and is only attractive when worn by white women. This message is not only being sent to adults struggling to find jobs, but children struggling to find confidence.

Not only does this practice of accepting cultural appropriation miseducate the majority population, it trivializes violence and oppression. The NFL team, the Washington Redsk*ns, have been criticized for the name, but the terms have been largely defended by its fans and owners. The argument is made that the name “keeps to tradition”, and “honors Indians”. It has been taken even further by telling the Indigenous activist groups that have called them out on the name’s racial connotations that they are “being too sensitive”. But for Native people, redsk*n means a barbaric colonialist practice in which governments would brutally scalp and murder Native Americans and use their “redsk*ns”, or scalps as proof of their kill. When violence targets one specific section of people through genocide, the trauma will last throughout subsequent generations. Therefore, it makes said trauma seem ridiculous, funny, and even playful when using it carelessly in everyday life. Media reinforces this by upholding and encouraging these false stereotypes and misinforming the general public.

Cultural appropriation is one of the most widespread issues within white, American fashion today, and deserves ample recognition and rectification. Yet we, as a nation still dismiss it as trivial. Education is the first step to showing exactly how many problems this phenomenon causes for minorities in America. This is especially true for those whose ethnic features and traditions are thought beautiful, but their actual well-being not as much. Not only this, but people of color as constantly seen through the lense of these stereotypes that cultural appropriation perpetuates and popularizes. As a result, it creates barriers of disrespect and dismission within the real world.

Works Cited:

1. United States. National Park Service. "Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend."National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, 04 Oct. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

2. "Despite The Natural Hair Movement, Black Women Still Face Pressure To Conform." Despite The Natural Hair Movement, Black Women Still Face Pressure To Conform. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

3. "Zendaya Rips E! Red Carpet Host Giuliana Rancic for 'Ignorant' Dreadlocks Comment." TheWrap. N.p., 23 Feb. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

4. "Kylie Jenner Rocks Dreadlocks On Instagram." StyleBlazer. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 08 Oct. 2015.

“Hey what’s your name?”

“Sarith”

“Shireeth?”

“No Sar, as in Sir, and ith as in eef.”

“Oohh, so Sairith!”

“Yeah, sure.”

Many have pronounced my name wrong from elementary school to middleschool. I’m usually called Alex at home around my neighborhood, but when I went to elementary, my dad had said my name was “Sarith.” I never knew about that. My dad never told me my first name, before and after, I just lived with it.

I have a lisp, and it affects the way I say my name. I sometimes pronounce my own name as “Shirith”, or “shireeth”, but I was able to take my time and fix it. I was sometimes afraid to talk since I had a lisp.

“Hey my name is Sarith”

“Hey shirift”

“SARRR RITHHH, as in SIRR REEF, not SHIRRR REEFF”

“Ohhh, sorry”

“It’s fine, happens all the time”

I was talking to a friend that I still am in contact today, although he doesn’t call me Sarith anymore, he calls me Chewy or Alex. I got the name Chewy from 5th grade. My math teacher was saying the names of the students, and when she got to mine, instead of saying Chuon which is pronounced Chu like “chu chu!” and on like turning something on, she said Chewy. After a week, everyone in my school called me Chewy. I was fine with that, as it made me more popular.I was even the favorite student in the school. My principal and Vice-Principal told me I was going to get an award for “Favorite Student”, but it shut down before I even graduated from 8th grade. Back to the story, I sometimes don’t care how I speak, but if I speak too fast, I don't even know what I'm saying. So I just take a deep breath and say it over again. I remember I used to get picked on for talking weird.

“Ahhhhhahahahaah, you speak with your tongue!”

“Aren’t you suppose to speak with your tongue?”

“You use your tongue on every word, you sound like you have a lot of saliva in your mouth.”

At that time, I was only in 6th grade, and I started to wonder how I spoke. I went on my computer and used a microphone I had and spoke, and listened to how I sounded. I noticed how weird I sounded. For some odd reason, when I speak regularly, I can hear myself speaking just as fine as everyone else. However, when I hear through a recording, I can definitely hear the lisp.

I always wanted an intimidating voice, like a deep voice or a voice that can tell someone not to mess with this guy. I’ve known people who have voices that can be easily identified. I mean, I can easily pick on the easy things about the person just through their voice. Sometimes they can be shy, with a rocky voice, or someone who tries to not be shy by trying to force their voice to be louder. I’ve noticed that our President, Barack Obama, has an interesting voice. His voice seems as though he’s intelligent, and knows what he’s doing. Some people can get jobs easily with voices. Let's say you have a really squeaky voice, and I mean a REALLY squeaky voice. There are jobs where they’ll just ask you questions, but know that they’ll decline you right after the interview (if there is one). Although, if you have a deep voice the chance will probably increase by a few percent maybe 2-5% because some jobs probably have “rude customers/clients” and if you have a deep voice, high chance they don’t want to mess with you. Therefore, wishing myself to have an intimidating voice.

Around now, I just don’t really know about how I speak. I also develop some new slangs such as “Mein, Mang (made those 2 up myself), Noodle, etc…” I never really use slangs much because I think they’re stupid, but I still tend to use them like “Jawn.” I sometimes use the word without knowing, probably from living in philly. From all the people who judged me from the way I speak, I just don’t care. I mean everyone talks differently but I honestly don’t care of the way I speak. It’s true that I want to try to speak so you won’t hear any lisp, but if I can’t, then that’s that. I can’t help it, it’s the way I speak.

I also remembered how I stutter sometimes when talking or ordering something. I don’t know why but I always feel pressured when ordering something. When I’m pressured, my voice is shaky, and I stutter a lot. When I speak, I sometimes try to listen to myself and see if i’m stuttering, check if my voice is shaky, or if I am speaking with a lisp. I always try to see if I’m talking in these ways but remember, I still try to not care about it. I always wondered if there was a way to clear a lisp, but I never decide to research about it or anything. I’ve heard that braces can help you speak more “normal” or speak without a lisp but I never asked my dentist about that. Maybe in the future I’ll ACTUALLY try to clear my lisp, and not be pressured trying to order something or have a shaky voice.