My original Capstone Project was making SLA’s school store more profitable through initiatives like cutting costs. It was to provide profits for the school to use. However, the Home & School Association could not provide enough volunteers. So, the store was closed much of the year.

This required me to create a new Capstone. I decided to help children improve academics at one of my elementary schools, the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy. My mentor approved my change of project. I attended the Al-Aqsa Islamic Academy from Pre-K to 1st grade when it was one of the best Muslim schools in Philadelphia. Currently, it is struggling academically. Parents have given it low ratings. Student enrollment is down.

The declining performance of the school gave me an opportunity to make a difference. I wanted to help younger children succeed. I also hoped to give teachers some relief. The main obstacle I faced was learning to be patient with the students. Sometimes students did not want to work. They would play instead of focusing. I tried to be firm yet positive with those who acted out. I hoped my coaching would transfer to their behavior in class.

Eventually, as I helped teachers grade student work, I saw improvement. Specifically, improvements occurred with presentations, tests, classwork and homework. In-class participation, engagement, and listening also improved.

The Capstone process was beneficial for me. I acquired significant knowledge. I only wish I had switched projects sooner. I am glad I was able to complete my Capstone and graduate.

Annotated Bibliography

Managing and Financing the School Store

https://smallbiztrends.com/2016/05/make-your-small-business-more-profitable.html

Emerson, Melinda. “5 Tips to Make Your Small Business More Profitable.” Small Business Trends, 23 May 2016,

This article suggests how to  manage the money at the school store. This is important to me because I wanted to make sure the store knows how to properly make a good profit to give towards the school and to buy more snacks without going over a budget.

https://succeedasyourownboss.com/seven-ways-profitable-small-business/

Emerson, Melinda, et al. “Seven Ways to Be More Profitable in Your Small Business » Succeed As Your Own Boss.” Succeed As Your Own Boss, 16 Mar. 2015,

This article helped me figure out some great ways to make better profit to help benefit the school store especially by creating some referrals/surveys for the customers. It is important to alway get feedback from others to help improve the choice of items in the store.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/232272

Kittaneh, Firas. “4 Ways a Small Business Can Scale to Profitability.” Entrepreneur, 18 Mar. 2014,

If I had followed the steps that are on this website, then by the end of the year I would have a good presentation showing how much time and effort I put towards the school store. This is a good source to rely on to try to take proper notes to keep on track in case of any issues we may face with money at the school store. This site offered a few high level tips for small business owners such as defining your value for the market, taking sensible risks, having a good cash flow strategy and making a real effort to appreciate employees.

https://www.score.org/blog/5-innovative-ways-run-more-efficient-small-business

Miller, Derek- June 22, 2017. “5 Innovative Ways to Run a More Efficient Small Business.” SCORE, SCORE, 22 June 2017,

This was similar to the link I have above. This site motivated me to improve any strategies I have for representing this capstone. This site described five high-level considerations for new small business leaders. They include delegation, automation, consolidation and simplification of work, as well as embracing change and innovation and embracing technology to improve IT performance.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/slideshow/306752#1

Rapetskaya, Maria. “5 Things Not to Do Running a Small Business.” Entrepreneur, 12 Jan. 2016

The Entrepreneur site provided me with ways to make sure that I had stayed on the right path by avoiding some of the mistakes of managing a small business at the store store. I know that in order for you to succeed you must fail and learn from that failure, but I did not want to cause a major money issue for the school store. It also focused on helpful, high-level tips for people who are starting a new company. This spoke to important issues such as choosing the right business associates,  patience, delegation, perseverance and renewal (including continually adapting the business meet market demands).

https://www.thebalance.com/steps-to-increase-small-business-profits-1200720

York, Mitchell. “6 Simple Ways to Increase Profits For Your Small Business.” The Balance,

This was another site that explains ways to raise a profit/fundraiser. I wanted to make sure I had the proper suggestions for the store to make sure that they could fundraise for the school  without having the store go into debt. It also focused on six ideas for how to increase the profits of a small business. The ideas range from changing operating procedures and stabilizing cash flow to trimming management costs and increasing marketing and sales productivity.

https://www.thebalance.com/starting-a-small-business-101-the-essential-steps-2951446

Zahorsky, Darrell. “What Are the Essential Steps in Starting a Small Business.” The Balance,

The website  was a planner/checklist for me to look back at to make sure I stayed on point with this project. I know that there were capstone timeline/checklist assignments to keep me on track but I did not want to rely on just those assignments. That was why I chose to use this  site that showed different aspects of setting up and running a small business. The site focuses on subjects such as defining a strong value proposition and business plan, choosing a business structure, and obtaining permits. It was interesting because the site also comments on specific details like naming the company and selecting a location.

http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/starting-a-business/tips-for-a-successful-small-business.html

“Tips for a Successful Small Business.” Findlaw,

This site offers me a  way of making sure I developed the proper skills of financing the school store, such as taking good notes to keep a record of the money coming in and out of the store. It also offered tips to small business leaders in over 10 areas ranging from high-level requirements (e.g. have a good business plan, maintain competitive advantage) to tactical considerations (e.g. use written contracts, buy insurance, hire well, pay expenses and taxes on time). This site has a clear focus on key legal issues required to run a small business.

http://smallbusiness.chron.com/run-successful-small-business-3183.html

“How to Run a Successful Small Business.” Chron.com,

This was a good site  because it guided me to understand how to run the school store with managing and fundraising. This also focused on four basic areas where small business leaders must focus: financial literacy, financing, legal issues and work-life balance.

https://quickbooks.intuit.com/r/trends/the-10-hardest-things-about-running-a-business/

“The 10 Hardest Things About Running a Business.” QuickBooks, 14 Dec. 2016,

This was a helpful link for me because it showed the hardest things that I would have to deal with when running a business and allowed me to make sure I would not make any major mistakes. It also offers a view of 10 significant challenges faced by many entrepreneurs and small business leaders as they try to balance short-term business imperatives and more strategic considerations.

Annotated Bibliography

Tutoring Elementary School Students

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/tutoring-strategies-primary-grades

“Tutoring Strategies for the Primary Grades.” Reading Rockets, 7 Nov. 2013,

This website  explains how children from 1st to 3rd grade usually read and comprehend. It briefly explains how to read with the kids, helping students grasp strategies, better comprehension, and even work their way up  to become great writers.

https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/partnering-with-childs-school/instructional-strategies/6-strategies-teachers-use-to-help-kids-with-learning-and-attention-issues

Team, Understood. “6 Strategies Teachers Use to Help Kids With Learning and Attention Issues.” Understood.org,

This site demonstrated how to professionally deal with children when teaching/tutoring them. It also included how to help those who have Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, ADHD, executive functioning issues, and slow processing speed. This was very important for me to take into consideration because I might have to face some students with  learning disorders. Therefore, I wanted to have the capability to help them out.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/what-makes-a-successful-tutor-seth-linden

“What Makes a Successful Tutor?” Edutopia,

This source described more about how to build a good relationship with the students I tutored. It is always good for children  to be comfortable expressing themselves through their work as they learn. So a tutor must be able to understand their personality  in order for them to achieve and succeed through their work.

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/tips-reading-tutors

“Tips for Reading Tutors.” Reading Rockets, 24 Aug. 2017,

This is similar to the first site above but it is more of a checklist than an elaboration on how to help elementary students read on the required level. It also includes how the tutor should manage herself when trying to help the kids since it takes a lot of respect and patience.

https://www.firsttutors.com/canada/tips-for-tutors.php

“Tips For New Tutors.” First Tutors, First Tutors  44 843 289 9165,

This website offers suggestions on how to increase student participation and engagement while while helping with  school work. This was one of the most reliable sources that I used because I had faced a lot of reluctance and acting out with the kids. Thankfully, I was able to use and create my own strategies while being professional and patient with them.

http://hechingerreport.org/elementary-school-teachers-struggle-with-common-core-math-standards/

“Elementary School Teachers Struggle with Common Core Math Standards.” The Hechinger Report, 16 June 2016,

This article talked about how  elementary teachers struggle with teaching their students math. At Al-Aqsa one of the academic subjects that students struggle with is math. This site allowed me to find and figure out better strategies to not only offer the kids but the teachers to improve their math skills.

https://www.care.com/c/stories/5383/how-to-become-a-successful-tutor/

Jayme. “How to Become a Successful Tutor.” Care.com, Care.com, 29 Mar. 2018,

This provided ways for me to be a good  tutor for elementary children since I had to be able to guide them on their level rather than on a middle or high school level. That way I could be able to build a beneficial relationship with them so that we could understand one another during our tutoring sessions.

http://education.seattlepi.com/tips-tutor-elementary-school-children-6003.html

Miller, Ashley. “Tips to Help Tutor Elementary School Children.” Why Is It Important to Have a Social Life in College? | Education - Seattle PI, 29 Sept. 2016,

This source was similar to the one above. I especially used the section that was titled, “Make Learning Fun” which is one of the best skills any tutor can have when dealing with children. The goal is that they should  never be bored or procrastinate. This did happen but as I continued to tutor I figured out ways, using this site and my creative strategies, to keep them engaged in their work which allowed them to use those same skills in their classroom.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin425.shtml

“Kids Tutor Kids to Big Gains.” Creating a Safe Classroom Environment | Education World,

What I took from this article in particular was the section about, “Big gains over short time” because that was my goal for not only the students and staff, but for the entire school. I wanted to be able to bring that lift and make a positive change to the Muslim community.

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/ways-help-students-understand-math-matthew-beyranevand

“6 Ways to Help Students Understand Math.” Edutopia,

This was another site that briefly describes how to help properly help students with math. This was useful for me to use because it offer skills that I could build off of such as; creating an effective class opener, topic representations, showing application, and communicating with reasoning.

The Bechdel Test and Mako Mori Test are movie measures to help rate the movie. These exist to help reviewers analyze and understand movies better whenever they watch it.

The Bechdel Test follows in these three categories;

• “It has to have at least two [named] women in it”

• “Who talk to each other”

• “About something besides a man”

The Mako Mori Test follows in these three categories;

• “at least one female character”

• “who gets her own narrative arc”

• “that is not about supporting a man's story”

Kay’s anti-gender movie test follows in these three categories;

• A woman must have a meaningful role within the movie

• Everybody especially men act supportive for the women

• The women shouldn’t have to show her body to still get the audience attention (sex scenes)

Twilight Review:

Overall, Twilight is a movie about a girl named Bella who was high school sophomore moving with her dad to Forks, Washington. However along this move she fell in love with Edward who she later found out that he is a vampire. This movie would obviously have a lot of conflict between her being a human and her boyfriend being a vampire but it did not stop them from loving each other. Throughout the movie, she tries to find herself after she decided to live with her father.

The Bechdel Test:

• It has two women in it who are (Bella and Alice)

• The women talks to each other about vampires

• But it’s always about a man which is Edward (Bella’s Boyfriend)

Rate ⅔

The Mako Mori Test:

• It has a least one woman in it who is (Bella)

• This female character has her narrative arc as to why she moves to Forks with her father from Arizona. Then the movie reaches its climax and resolution after she met Edward.

• The entire movie supports a man which is her boyfriend for being a vampire.

Rate ⅔

My anti-gender movie Test:

• Bella role in this romantic movie is the new girl everyone pays attention to in school since her dad is a cop and she dates Edward whos semi-popular at this High School

• Edward doesn’t seem to support a lot of what she wants because he’s always so in control and dominant towards her. Which turns her on.

• There was a time she was going to have sex with Edward but he wanted to have self control

Rate 1 ½

Fifty Shades of Grey Review:

Fifty Shades of Grey is a movie about a woman graduating from college named Ana Steele who fell in love with a successful business man named Christian Grey. Grey was a dominant sex addict who need proper love and after meeting Ana that is what he found. Ana allowed him to open up about a lot of issues that he was facing in life. However, no matter how much Ana changed his outlook of love he was still in control of her.

The Bechdel Test:

• It has to have at least two women in the movie whose names are; anastasia steele who’s the character Christian Grey “girlfriend” and her Ana’s roommate Kate Kavanaugh who’s a reporter for the school’s newspaper

• Who have an extreme sexual relationship with each other

• Mostly everything was all about him throughout the movie

Rate ⅔

The Mako Mori Test:

• The one female main character which is Ana.

• She doesn’t gets her own narrative arc because in the movie we as the reviewers what it was like growing up like her boyfriend.

• This is about supporting a man's story by his success and background of his life.

Rate ⅓

My anti-gender movie Test:

• Ana doesn’t have too much of a meaningful role other than being Christian’s girlfriend.

• Christian supported her as she was graduating in college.

• The majority of the movie included Ana and Christian sex scenes which caught the audience attention.

Rate ⅓

Hidden Figures Review:

This movie is about African-American women who worked for NASA in the 1960’s. During that period, it was very hard for women to find a job that is mostly qualified for men. In addition, these women were African-American so of course it was harder for them to get the exact job that they deserve working with NASA. An African-American woman named Katherine Johnson was the smartest mathematician within the entire company. However, with her abilities to solve equations she helped NASA stop their racist views towards the African-American community. This entire movie allowed the Caucasians (especially men) have more respect towards African-American people because of her hard work.

The Bechdel Test:

• It has two women in it who are Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson

• The women talks to each other about mathematical calculations

• The majority of the the movie was about space

Rate 3/3

The Mako Mori Test:

• It has a least one woman in it who is Katherine

• This female character has her narrative arc as to how she help figure out the proper calculations to orbit a spaceship around Earth. As a result, it was a success.

• The entire movie supports an the first African-American women working for NASA resolving a critical issue in space for the country.

Rate 3/3

My anti-gender movie Test:

• Katherine was one of the many African-American women to play a role as a brave woman working with a lot of men trying to get the first man to reach the moon.

• Once, she proved how accurate  her calculations was to the person in charge of NASA everyone respected and supported her work.

• There wasn’t a sex scene going on throughout the entire movie to get more audience to watch this. Instead this movie was a good movie by actually demonstrating history that was never told about African-American women in the 1960’s working for NASA.

Rate 3/3

Conclusion:

Twilight and Fifty Shade of Grey is a romantic movie that include the women’s lovers to be in control of everything that they do. However, Hidden Figures is about an African-American woman changing the mindset of Caucasian men and women underestimating intelligent smart african-American women like herself. While Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey get their high rating from the sex scenes and romantic drama Hidden Figures got the high rating from seeing a woman making history with science. How come we can not have people play roles like this in any genre of movie to get the best rating? With or without sex scenes, sexism, and homophobic insults throughout the movie?

Sites:

http://geekfeminism.wikia.com/wiki/Mako_Mori_test

https://bechdeltest.com/

Kawthar Hasan (Kay)

Ms. Larissa Pahomov

English 3

1 May 2017

Approximately 80% of people in the world who smoke and take narcotics suffer from major health defects and die due to simply taking; Tobacco, Xanax, Heroin, Marijuana, etc. Taking unprescribed medications or recreational drugs can lead people to have ‘Drug Addiction Characteristics’. This means that a person who abuses a chemical stimulant becomes dependent and addicted to it. Adults are not the only ones who struggle with addiction; teens are affected by this issue as well. In the United States teenagers struggle with drug addiction. Recreational and non prescribed drugs within the teen community is becoming more encouraged and accepted. Abusing them at such a young age will cause complications in their later lives, that could hinder how they function as adults.

There are differences and similarities between illegal, and legal drugs. There are also many ways of using them as well. The commonly used illegal drugs are; Marijuana, Hashish, Heroin, and more. Marijuana which also have many other names like weed, is a cannabis that can be smoked in cigarettes or joint. Hashish or hash is made from cannabis that can be smoked from a pipe, vaporizer, or joint. Heroin is processed from morphine and has a natural materials taken out from seed pod of particular poppy plants. On the other hand the most frequently used legal drugs are; Nicotine, Alcohol, OxyContin, etc. Nicotine is a stimulant/relaxant which allows people to be more ‘happy’ yet it increases the heart rate and pressure. Alcohol is a liquid substance that is usually comes in form of beer, wine, and liquor. OxyContin is a painkiller medicine that has an active ingredient of oxycodone. On “Addiction Center” website it stated the side effects of taking any drug; “Substance abuse affects teen brain development by: Interfering with neurotransmitters and damaging connections within the brain, Reducing the ability to experience pleasure, Creating problems with memory, Causing missed opportunities during a period of heightened learning potential, Ingraining expectations of unhealthy habits into brain circuitry, Inhibiting development of perceptual abilities.” Therefore, teens should avoid taking any drug whether it is legal or illegal so that they would not face any dominant health issues at an early stage in life.

As a person reaches adolescence stage in their life, they would often begin to experiment and find things out on their own, especially with drugs. At a young age many of them were taught by their parents, guardians, or at least their teachers to try to avoid becoming a drug addict simply because of how harmful it is to that person. While some may listen to that specific advise, others may want to learn the hard way of acting doing drugs. It could be affected by how their older advisers would guide them. An example could be, how someone could put too much pressure on persuading them to not take it and not necessarily telling them the consequences causing that teen to not care and start the addiction. Whereas, someone who is giving that health lesson offering a lot of great information for a teen to adjust to why they should not face harming themselves with it, what would go through becoming an addict, and ways/places to get seek for help to end the bad harmful habit. On the “Partnership for Drug-Free kids” site it offered information as to possible reasons to why they may take drugs and it stated; “...some teens abuse prescription medicine to manage stress or regulate their lives. Sometimes they abuse prescription stimulants (used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) to provide additional energy and the ability to focus when they’re studying or taking tests. Others are abusing prescription pain relievers and tranquilizers to cope with academic, social or emotional stress.” Nonetheless, teens sometimes find ways to do things with many activities and objects. This can be build by creating different habits for themselves. However, it can lead to start doing more positive or negative things to affect a path they would create themselves of their future. Either way, becoming an addict at a young age does not sound like a great path that someone should risk to take.

Drug usage at any age can cause many medical complications, but teenagers who have addiction to narcotics in particular are at a higher risk simply due to the fact that they are extremely young. For example, the most common problems that teens face after smoking include hysteria attacks, apprehension disorder, and depression. It also makes it very hard for them to give up their obsession if they are abusing it from their adolescence to adulthood since they have been on it for a while. This connects to the blog written by Casa Palmera Staff stating; “Statistics show that drug abuse is a growing problem among teens. In addition to cocaine, Ecstasy and other club drugs, a recent Monitoring the Future Study showed that the top six most abused drugs by teens are: marijuana (31.5%), Vicodin (9.7%), amphetamines (8.1%), cough medicine (6.9%), sedatives & tranquilizers (6.6% each). Without treatment, the effects of drug abuse on teens can lead to serious consequences now and well into adulthood.” Either way, if knowing that taking any harmful chemical stimulant can affect physically damaging their body, why even take the risk?  There are many ways of resolving this addiction, but that person needs to willing take the second chance to be their vigorous selves again. Therefore, if teens want to live a nice healthy life as they get older, they should try to seek guidance in ending their obsession to drugs.

One way a teen can end their dependency on drugs is going to Rehab. Rehab is a facility that people stay to live for a period of time for recovery and they are 14,000+ rehab centers that are available in the United States. Treatment and unique techniques for anyone who is struggling with addiction is offered to help combat their disease. From the “Teen Challenge” rehab website it mentioned; “Unwilling to settle for helping only 20 percent of those desperate for help, Pennsylvania Teen Challenge and McFadden created and launched Project 80, where they are endeavoring to provide services for 80 percent of candidates calling for help.” A lot of times it is extremely hard for a teen to seek for help about their addiction, they may be so involved with their drug abuse that teens may not realize that they have an obsession and that they need any possible assistance.  

If teenagers stopped to think about it, they would realize that taking illegal or legal drugs does not just involve having an addiction, but it also it causes a lot of health issues as they grow into their adulthood as well. No matter if they may be struggling in their life with, they should find more positive habits to solve their issues. Harming themselves can cause their situation to be worst that what it already is, especially around those who they may be encounter to. That is why teens throughout the world should put an end to their addiction to not only keep their bodies healthy and to save their lives but to allow them to have more of an open mind about what they are interested doing in life.

Works Cited:

https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/06/is-smoking-still-a-problem-among-teenagers/comment-page-9/

Gonchar, Michael. "Is Smoking Still a Problem Among Teenagers?" The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Sept. 2013. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/108848-teen-smoking-problems/

Boehlke, Julie. "Teen Smoking Problems." LIVESTRONG.COM. Leaf Group, 19 Apr. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-teen-smoking

"11 Facts About Teen Smoking." DoSomething.org | Volunteer for Social Change. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/teen-smoking-still-a-big-problem/article_72a2c2d8-b7a7-11df-a176-001cc4c03286.html

Board, Journal Editorial. "Teen Smoking Still a Big Problem." Rapid City Journal. N.p., 09 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Apr. 2017.

https://www.summitbehavioralhealth.com/blog/top-10-addictive-illegal-drugs/

"What Are The Top 10 Most Addictive Illegal Drugs?" Summit Behavioral Health. N.p., 10 June 2016. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

http://www.attn.com/stories/2643/crack-vs-cocaine

Bracy, Emma. "Here's the Surprising Difference Between Crack and Cocaine." ATTN:. ATTN:, 09 Aug. 2015. Web. 26 Apr. 2017.

https://casapalmera.com/the-effects-of-drug-abuse-on-teens/

Staff, Written By Casa Palmera. "The Effects of Drug Abuse on Teens." Casa Palmera. N.p., 23 July 2015. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.

http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs339/en/

"Tobacco." World Health Organization. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2017.

https://www.centeronaddiction.org/addiction/commonly-used-illegal-drugs#.WQh2VPQrK00

"Commonly Used Illegal Drugs." The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. N.p., 14 Apr. 2017. Web. 02 May 2017.

http://drugfree.org/parent-blog/top-8-reasons-teens-try-alcohol-drugs/

February 13, 2017 by Julie. "Top 8 Reasons Why Teens Try Alcohol and Drugs." Partnership for Drug-Free Kids - Where Families Find Answers. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 May 2017.

In the play “Taming of the Shrew” by Shakespeare, he created a character (Petruchio) who became a suitor to his wife (Katherine), to show his audience how others will do anything but be themselves to get what they want out of their relationship. This play is similar to the romantic comedy “Vampires Suck”. It happened to be that the main characters (Jacob and Edward) find their way into doing some of the same things that the suitors did in “Taming of the Shrew” but only in this movie they pretended to be human in order to win Becca.

Although many can see that Petruchio and Edward have the same portion of affection and ambitions in their relationship and situation, their approach to the people that they love is a bit different. Petruchio’s goal is to force Katherine to love and respect him. On the other hand, Edward finds his way to manipulate Becca by showing his compassion and controlling her emotions. Now these two positions may present two different kinds of amusement, but it also represents how other belief system towards romance have innovated over time. Therefore, this reflects the enduring thought that no matter how many centuries ago that  men found their way of having so much power over their women, till this day they must have a ‘higher position’ in their relationship. Overtime this has caused a lot of conflict and disagreements in their relationships.

Katherine:

"Gentlemen, forward to the bridal dinner.

 I see a woman may be made a fool

If she had not a spirit to resist.

Petruchio:

They shall go forward, Kate, at thy command.

Obey the bride, you that attend her.

Go to the feast, revel and domineer,

Becca finds herself in a similar situation in the movie however, Edward warned her more about her safety than her behavior.

In the movie, Edward has been so controlling in their relationship that he even appears in her head after he left and broke up with her. In this scene of the movie, Becca was hallucinating about Edward whenever she may do something “ricky” and Edward is warning her to not go and even talk to the creepy men on the motorcycles. She ignore him for a good minute by trying to talk to the motormen  and one of them hits her with a can, causing her to realize that the Edward in her head was right about the men. Connecting to the play the situation with Becca and Edward is more ‘severe’ than Petruchio and Katherine because they face more issues about their circle and relationship than people outside of their circle trying to harm them.

Kawthar Hasan (Kay)

Ms. Larissa Pahomov

English 3

4 January 2017

A lot of Americans do not realize the amount of freedom we have in this country compared to other foreign places in the world. For instance, dressing the way we desire, hanging out with men and women in the public eye without being judged, or even having the choice of practicing another religion. In an islamic country, if a person were to disobey any of those rules, they will face either getting lashed in the public, face a lot of time in prison, and/or death. As Americans we need to understand and value the open opportunities we have in this country that others wished that they would acquire.

I remember the last time my family and I were arriving at our destination of my mother’s native country: Casablanca, Morocco. At that time I was at the age of six. There approximately about 32 million people living in Morocco. Although the capital city is Rabat, Casablanca is the largest and most popular city in Morocco with nearly 4 million residents. I can trace back to us getting off the plane and remembering some of the things in my surroundings. The men and women being dressed modestly, the Moroccan language my mom speaks which also others spoke around me, and inhaling the wind that is completely different from the United States air.  Once we walked to a huge baggage place at the airport too grab all of our belongings, my mom gave a suggestion to my dad, “Instead of trying to catch a taxi why don’t we try to call to my cousin, Ridwan” she told him. He  responded,  “Sure okay, why don’t you offer him a call by using that phone booth right over there?” my dad pointed. My mom grabbed some dirhams she had in her bag and walked over to the phone booth to call her cousin. My cousin Ridwan came to pick us up from the airport. I was looking out the window as we rode down Boulevard de Rachidi. I noticed the palm trees on both sides of the rode, like how you would see it in many Hollywood movies. From then on, I knew that I would have the best experience that I will never forget in Morocco.

There is about 99 percent of the muslim population in Morocco. Muslims all around the world pray five times a day to worship only one God, Allah. Each and everyday, no matter what city I traveled to while I was in Morocco; Marrakech, Tangier, Tetouan, or Salé a call to prayer, which we call the Adhan is always played five different times a day throughout the city. This is normal in the Arab/Muslim countries. Although, the United States the government offers people freedom of religion, they do not offer a prayer system to be called throughout the cities like in the Arab countries. Although we do not have adhans going off in the city, here in the United States we have many masjids to go to worship Allah.

Living in a religious country is different from living here in the United States. There are strict rules and regulations that citizens and even the people who tour in these religious countries must abide by. For instance, no woman is considered as an independent woman, both males and females are required to be dressed in a modest way, there is a ban on social mixing between men and women in the public eyes and sometimes in the private eyes unless they are family, and the list goes on. On the other hand, in the United States, we have freedom of speech, our rights to wear whatever we want, the ability to not be judged by others if they are interfering with men and vice versa. When I was six years old in my family home I realized some of these differences between the culture in Morocco and the U.S.  when a young lady and a man had begun to have sexual intercourse without being married. People within the community witnessed and had begun to spread the word, and it eventually spread to the ears of her father. A few days later, she was found being beaten in the middle of the street by her father.  At a young age during that time, I witnessed something so tragic that eventually swayed my opinion about the standards of human beings. I was trying to convince my family to stop the chaos, that I could not bring myself to watch anymore, yet they refused. As the minutes passed, we witnessed something so dreadful until my dad could not tolerate watching that uncontrolled violence in the street anymore. Therefore, he decided to run out of the house to save the young girl from her father beating her nearly to death. My dad somehow, someway found a way to talk the man out of abusing his daughter especially, in the street for people to watch and entertain. After that things settled down and for the rest of that day the entire neighborhood was quiet. Even at a young age I comprehended the reason why my dad saved that young woman. Although my dad understood the way the government and Islamic laws were set up as we were in Morocco, he refuse to watch a young adult being abused in the streets by her own blood. For the fact that he has me and my sister to raise, regardless of what minor or major mistake we would have to face in life. He has to show us how much he cares and love us no matter what.

If Americans stopped to think about it, they would realize that living in an Arab country is not just about speaking a different language, but it is truly about maintaining yourself abiding with the islamic and governmental laws as well. If a person were to live in the United States their entire life, then go to an Arab country, even if it is just for a vacation, they would honestly not accept a lot governmental requirements since they are not used to residing in a strict country. In America, we have many rights that are forbidden in many Arab countries such as; women going to work/school, dressing the way we desire, Marriage equality (especially Gay Marriage), etc. As Americans we should be thankful for the government to allow us to have open opportunities that others wished they had in their country.

Sources:

http://www.relevantdad.com/2016/07/the-american-flag/

"The American Flag." Relevant Dad. N.p., 04 July 2016. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

http://www.spirit21.co.uk/2011/01/anatomy-of-an-islamic-country/

Spirit21. Shelina Zahra Janmohamed - Spirit21, n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

http://blog.travel-exploration.com/2015/03/

"March 2015 Archives - Travel-Exploration Blog Travel-Exploration Blog."TravelExploration Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

http://intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com/2014/09/17/i-heart-my-city-yasmines-rabat/

City, I. Heart My. "I Heart My City: Yasmine’s Rabat." Intelligent Travel. N.p., 28 Sept. 2016. Web.09 Jan. 2017.

http://imamsonline.com/blog/sounds/

"Sounds." Imams Online. N.p., 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 09 Jan. 2017.

Kawthar Hasan

Ms. Pahomov

English 3

26 September 2016

People have to make difficult decisions to help them get through their life, especially with education. For example, getting a high school education is extremely hard for many people because of stress like life’s certain events such as finance, lack of interest in school, and failing to succeed school. Those are some of the reasons why it is causing some to drop out. Many adults strongly cast down students from doing this, going off  to the long-term issues of not having a high school diploma to have more open doors opportunities in the workforce. Regardless of the individual struggles and tribulations, those who drop out of high school do it with their best interest in mind. For teens who do drop out, their action is justifiable because they are doing what is best for them in that moment of time to work on themselves. That way these people can find a positive path to make the right decisions without any stress of school work being put on them.

According to the Colorado Department of Education, There are three main factors of why these teens drop out of high school: school related, family related, and employment related reasons, for many high school dropouts. The article also stated that, “Students who fail to succeed in school and attend schools that fail to provide them with the environments and supports they need to succeed.” In other words, the majority of the people who drop out had trouble with others helping them in and out of school to allow them to stay at their school. When there is no moral support, a student gets tired and believes that leaving would be best. Relating to the argument about the moment in time, teens need some support at times with their education before having them making the decision of dropping out.Therefore, it is not necessarily the kids fault if an adult does not try to help out avoiding them from dropping out, it should always be a place where these people can reach out and get support.

On the ‘National Dropout Prevention Center/Network’ website it shows many percentages such as, missed school days, overall the percentages for males are at “44.1” and females are at “42.7”. These percentages are high for the school related issues for teens to drop out. It could be possible that teens missed so many school days to deal with personal issues like financial or family problems that they have to face at home. Therefore, they must do what is best for them to take care of themselves so that education will not be in the way. There are times when adults are not in the picture to help support these kids to assist them with their personal needs to do better in high school to get their diploma. To be their in there true time of need of help.

Another reason dropping out can make sense is that it doesn’t actually cut a person off from education in the long run. A man named Kenny Buchanan who is in his late 40’s was a high school dropout. In ninth grade at the age of 18, he flunked twice and chose to give up, and decided to work at Burger King full time. He mentioned in an interview, "Back then, I could get a job anywhere," he says. "I could work at Burger King, quit that job and have a job the next day without an education." However, now he feels that it is hard to get a job because the job applications require a high school diploma. From the author Claudio Sanchez in the NPR article quoted, “Buchanan is one of 40 million Americans who never graduated from high school. Most of these people, about 60 percent, are between 40 and 70 years old, according to the ‘American Council on Education.’ About 9 in 10 have never earned more than $40,000. Buchanan falls into that majority.” Therefore, he decided to go to a place called Career Link, which is a place for job training and education for unemployed adults like Buchanan. There, then he realized the closest requirement that he needed was, a GED. GED stands for General Education Diploma, to get this a person must pass a test to earn a certificate. The certificate is proof of getting some sort of education. A person can take it at any place to get hired by their employer if there is no diploma with the job application. "When you get that GED book and you see the math that's required — algebra, trig — I think that scares a lot of people. Especially if they haven't been in school for 30 years," Career Link Director Sharon Angle says. Nonetheless, it is worth getting a job since nowaday many career places are accepting them with the applications. Which is great for others to get a job without a diploma and still be financially stable for themselves and their family.

People are going to make the best or the worst choice at certain points in life, but no matter what happens they will learn from their actions. Life is not all about making the perfect decision for a person and it will always indicate on someone whatever or wherever especially with education. If a person decides to put a hold on getting a diploma and need to get themselves together first, why not give them a chance? If high schoolers stopped to think about it, they would realize that their diploma is not just about graduation, it's about their long-term job prospects as well. Leaving school will allow them to be independent and get a view of what the future may hold. While getting an education is quite important in life, that one piece of paper known as a high school diploma can change so much in a person’s future life. Getting that job or raise that was wanted. While life can make getting a high school diploma hard for a good amount of people with personal issues. All of that has to be understandable, because sometimes life puts a person in a spot where one does not always wish for but that person has to find a way to fix it.

Works CIted (MLA format):

• http://www.npr.org/2011/07/28/138741367/a-high-school-dropouts-mid-life-hardships

"A High School Dropout's Midlife Hardships." NPR. NPR, n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

• https://www.cde.state.co.us/dropoutprevention/bestpractices/overview-who

"Why Do Students Drop Out of School?" Colorado Department of Education Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Sept. 2016.

• http://sgo.sagepub.com/content/3/4/2158244013503834

By Far, the National Longitudinal Study That Offered the Most Comprehensive Analysis of Dropout Causes and Received Well-diversified Scholarship Was the NELS:88. Conducted on a Representative Panel of 24,599 Eighth Graders, the NELS:88 Study Lasted 12 Yea. "Understanding Why Students Drop Out of High School, According to Their Own Reports."Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

• http://settlement.org/ontario/education/adult-education/get-a-high-school-diploma-adults/what-is-ged-high-school-equivalency-certificate/

"What Is GED/High School Equivalency Certificate?" What Is GED/High School Equivalency Certificate? N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

• http://dropoutprevention.org/resources/statistics/quick-facts/why-students-drop-out/

"Why Students Drop Out." National Dropout Prevention Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

The picture on the left, demonstrates a group of children learning in a classroom.

For this quarter benchmark I would like to do on tutor kids English, as a second language. I'm more comfortable with doing this topic because I know a lot of languages, and I want to help others who don't know at least the English language. What I am hoping to do is to help tutor kids with their homework, who speak another foreign language. They are a lot of immigrants children that come live here in America. When some of them do, they may not know or understand how to speak English. My goal is to make kids comfortable learning how to speak English to get a better communication with whomever may encounter with.

This photo on the right, shows an example of how children in a classroom loses their confidence.

In terms of participating with the class, students who seem to have trouble with the English language are often shy and extremely nervous I would want to help them with finding their confidence and having a better communication with everyone in school. Some students faced teachers making their learning environment more difficult by their way of teaching. Some cases where teachers wouldn’t explain/go over the work appropriately, for the student to comprehend it and get it done the right way. Therefore, I want to assist not just teaching them English but, with finding their confidence any order to participate in school.

This image on the left, shows kids exploring a globe in a classroom.

What I am wondering at this point of process is, finding specific creative ways to tutor children their second language. Will I learn a couple of new languages as I tutor kids? It would be great if I do! I hope that through this process I not only teach a second language to others, but help them gain confidence in school. It would help a lot communicating with people who speak English.

Bibliography

Nuestros nombres son Ethan, Shawn, Kay, y Claire. Nosotros somos estudiantes en SLA, una escuela muy divertido. Es una buena escuela para matemáticas y ciencias. Los estudiantes y los profesores son muy simpaticos. Esta en Filadelfia, en el centro de la ciudad. Hay cincos pisos todos en la escuela, pero usamos cuatro. Hay muchos equipos de deportes, y alguien puede jugar. Aprendi mucho y quiero aprender mas. Si prestas atencion, vas a sacar buenas notas. Mis amigos y yo participamos en muchas clases que son muy chévere. Vamos muchas lugares con nuestra clase. La semana pasada vamos la Wilma. Es un bien teatre. Tenemos muchas cosas que hacer, y siempre tenemos divertido.

Tenemos bioquímica, español, historia, geometría, inglés, tecnología, y ingeniería en SLA. Inglés es mi clase favorita. En esta clase leemos Shakespeare y participamos activamente. Me gusta clase de español también. En español, aprendemos y cantamos chévere canciones en español. Es bien divertida y a veces difícil. En historia necesito una carpeta, una pluma, y una computadora. En almuerzo necesito un almuerzo y tenemos muy divertida. Y como si fuera poco, hablamos con amigos. Para tener éxito en bioquímica necesitamos prestar atención. En geometría necesitamos hacemos toda la tarea y trabajamos duro.

Mi profesoras favorita son la Señorita Sessa y la Señorita Manuel en mi escuela, SLA. La Señorita Sessa enseña bioquímica y la Señorita Manuel enseña español. Me gusta la clase bioquímica con la Señorita Sessa. Es facil, ella enseña súper bien. Sin embargo en español clase, nunca hablamos en inglés. Encantamos la Señorita Manuel, ella es amable, y cómica. En SLA, nosotros son más o menos cómico pero bien en todo las clases. Trabajamos duro, prestamos atención más, leemos tremendamente, estudiamos, escribamos un poco, pasamos un rato con amigos, inteligentemos más, y escuchamos todo profesoros.

Nos gusta SLA. Nos gusta mucho SLA porque es diferente. Los profesores son simpáticos y nos ayudan. ¡Qué chévere! Las clases son dificiles pero sacamos buenas notas. Y los estudiantes son buenos. Para más información, aquí está nuestro contacto: www.scienceleadership.org

Net Neutrality is a blocking of a source/website in terms of the internet. The Net Neutrality can control your phone, cable, and computer as long as it includes the internet. There is a lot of conflict with big companies like comcast with the Net Neutrality. It is blocking many things that people would want want to view and it is hard for the viewers to deal with. It is their attempt to charge these companies, so they will not block a lot of their material.

It is important to know because, there are sites that are blocked and not every site will function the same. Without knowing people will be very confused and or surprised of what is going on with many resources that they are trying to use. Also, they will know how to properly use websites to find their viewings.

As teenagers, it blocks a lot of materials that are considered inappropriate depending on where you are as you are researching. Personally, it can hard for me to deal with when most of my assignments are online, because of what the Net Neutrality is doing. There are many pros and cons with this situation, however it is something we all have to face.

Sources:

http://www.theopeninter.net/

https://openmedia.ca/saveournet/faq

http://guide.sacbee.com/2014/05/19/6105/two-sides-of-the-net.html

Kawthar Hasan (Kay) Script:

Background music: Don Omar, Danza Kuduro.

First Slide:

Hola buenos dias classe, el nombre de este título es Los seres queridos en mi vida.

Second Slide:

¡Este soy yo¡ Me llamo Kawthar pero mi apodo Kay. Tengo 14 ½ años. Soy muy gupa, baja, un poco loca, y inteligente. Mi cumpleaños es el vientinueve de febrero.

Third Slide:

Este es mi hermano. Su nombre es Rasul. Rasul es alto, divertido, muy cómico, y es loco. Sin embargo, él es muy amable.

Fourth Slide:

Este es mi hermana. Pero, es mi mejor amiga. Su nombre es Sukainah. Sukainah está en 6th grado. Ella le gusta la escuela un poco pero, le gusta dormir. ( Yo también)

Fifth Slide:

Este es mi prima y yo. Mi prima nombre es Salma. Salma tiene 6 años. Soy su primo favorito. La quiero mucho.

Sixth Slide:

Este es mi madre y hermana. Ellas es simpicatas, guapas, les encanta cocinar, pero, no les gusta leer.

Seventh Slide (Last Slide):

¡FIN! Gracias classe

https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1QoH0h_PeJd5LKcGiuXU8ITpzH3Ni-0GRE3_dwk_hUgU/edit#slide=id.p