Violence an Uprising Concern

What has the human race got themselves into? If one turns on the radio or the television, the news are filled with the violence that has been occurring around the world. There is slaughter and mass murder of humans. Each human being is not different from each other. We are made of flesh and blood, so why is there so much hatred in this world.  

We look at the war in the Middle East which has been going on for almost a decade. Due to the use of weapons of mass destruction, the historic architecture, homes and lives of people have been destroyed. Those who have survived have limited resources left to rebuild their lives back. The Middle Eastern land was once considered filled with riches such as oil and gold. The people were living a happy and a healthy life. The war caused chaos and huge massacre of men and the women was assaulted and raped. According to www.independent.co.uk, the women in Syria are training and preparing for a fight against the ISIS to protect themselves and their families. During times of utter despair people rise up to fight for what they believe is right.

Moving on, third world countries such as Congo where there is abundance of minerals such as Gold, Tin, tantalum, tungsten. These materials are used to make technologies such as cell phones, game consoles, etc. We in the United States use these technologies in abundance. Almost every one carries a cell phone but do we know how the materials came about to build these technology. According to raisehopeforcongo.org “Armed groups, along with the Congolese National Army, are guilty of gang rapes, rapes leading to injury and death, and abductions of women and girls”. These military men are supposed to be protecting the women and children but they are the ones committing these assaults on them. Many of these women are too ashamed to go back to their family or they are disowned. Some of these women also end up being sex slaves as they have no choice. The men are assaulted or murdered if they do not follow the rules of these groups.   

Let’s look at local events that have been occurring within the United States, the events in Baltimore has escalated rapidly after the incident of Freddy Grey’s death while under police custody. CNN news states that in Baltimore, May has been the deadliest month with 35 homicides. Comparing this statistics, it has been 15 years that so many people has died in one month. It is the act of racism or miscommunication between the law authority and civilians. Racism has been a brought up numerous times concerning the law authority. There have been many incidents after this event that have brought up the concern that the mind set of people has to change. Race is not something we should look at in people. It’s the behavior of certain people that makes us believe that race is involved when looking at violence.   There have been looting and assault which has risen drastically thus causing much grievance and distress to the law authority and also the residents.

Violence and war has erupted in our society. There are numerous events which are occurring as I am writing this paper. These crimes have caused great chaos and bloodshed around the globe. It has affected the lives of not only humans but living creatures who share this planet with us. Is there hope for the future generation? Or will history of war and violence repeat itself?

Work Cited

"Baltimore Sees Deadliest Month in 15 Years - CNN.com." CNN. Cable News Network, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/26/us/baltimore-deadliest-month-violence-since-1999/index.html>.

"Sexual Violence | RAISE Hope for Congo." Sexual Violence | RAISE Hope for Congo. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. <http://www.raisehopeforcongo.org/content/sexual-violence>.

The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 26 May 2015. <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/war-with-isis-meet-the-kurdish-womens-militia-fighting-for-their-families-west-of-the-syrian-town-of-ras-alayn-10274956.html>.

Pollution And Climate Change

The human race has developed a lot over centuries. There have been developments of factories and technologies to make everyday living easier. But these developments have been affecting our ecosystem drastically. Pollution can be classified as air, water or land pollution. It is depleting earth’s resources and causing damage to the lives of humans. According to WWF “there could be multiple forms of contamination—streams full of toxic chemicals from industrial processes, rivers overloaded with nutrients from farms, trash blowing away from landfills, city skies covered in smog”.

These pollution's are the cause of humans trying to make living easier and cheaper but what they are not taking into consideration that we are destroying our own home. If we look at The United States of America, there are some states who are consistently trying to minimize the pollution such as having smog test for vehicles or not using plastic bags but resorting to recyclable bags. While On the other hand other states do the complete opposite. This is not helping to cope with the problem of pollution.

Over the centuries, the industries have expanded to different continents and the effects of this has affected environment. These industries have provided employment to millions of people but how many are living a healthy life. The chemicals used by these industries have slowly deteriorated the health of these workers. We look at countries such as china, the pollution rate in the country has increased way beyond its limit. The air is so polluted that people have to wear masks to do their daily tasks. Air pollution is when chemicals are being released in the earth’s atmosphere. Due to this there have been changes in the earth’s climate.

Let’s look at how California is going through a drought. We are all suffering the consequences of the pollution. There is a limited water available and the government has implemented penalties to those who exceed their water limit. Moving on, staying on the topic of drought we look at water pollution. The documentary Gas land states how the mining of oil has polluted the wells people used as water source. On top of the pollution, the companies mining the oil did not take responsibility for their mistake. These people have to pay for the water which they used to have for free. These mining industries use at least 40 trillion gallons of water just to mine the oil. These later end up in contaminating the water source we use. This is just one of the examples of how industries are destroying our ecosystem.

Land pollution is also at rise, there is so much waste a person uses that it ends up in a landfill. Plastic is the major contributor to pollution. This ends up in our surrounding and even end up in the sea. As mentioned earlier, California has taken a major step to stop the usage of plastic bags in shopping centers.  Next time you go to buy groceries, you might either you’re your own recyclable bag or end up buying one.

We as human beings should consider that earth is our home and we should try and protect it for our future generations. Earth is one of the planets we know that is susceptible to life. The pollution that has been created by humans is decreasing this susceptibility. Our ozone layer is being depleted, our clean water sources are running out, the air is filled with chemicals. Has the human race not seen all these signs? What are we going to do about to save our home?

What Happens when a school fails a kid?

A school is a place where kids go to study and learn things for the betterment of their future. They put their trust in the school system to be able to accomplish their dream goals and career. But what happens when the schools themselves starts to fail students? By failing means not having proper teachers, equipment or teaching method for students to learn effectively. Some schools having the selection system is a ridicule to the education system. Those kids who do not get accepted by this schools is crushing their dreams and lowering their self esteem. The only questions that comes to the kids mind is why didn't I get accepted?

Waiting for Superman

According to Geoffrey Canada in "Waiting for Superman"  when he was a young kid he always used to say that " superman is going to come and save us". As superman was always the one who would save the people in distress in his comic books. The real life does not have superman to come and save us. Neither does the suffering school system who needs a superman to come and save them. Schools have been divided into two categories; Private schools and public schools. Private schools tends to have up to date and facilities which helps a student prepare for the upcoming college life. On the other hand Public schools are the ones who are suffering with the lack funds for better education of the students. In the book "Savage Inequalities" states that in East St Louis  there seems to be more liquor and lottery stores than schools or supermarkets. The kids do go to school but they don't learn much. A teacher in North Lawndale mentions that they " keep the students in class for seven years and give them a diploma if they make it to eight grade. They can't even read, but give them the diploma". These schools are just trying to get students in and out of schools without realizing that they are not learning much. Another problem which arises in that of class and race which determines what school a child goes to. The book mentions a term the "Magnet System" which is " a private school system... operated in the public schools". The only way to get admission to these kind of schools are if you are white and of a middle class families. Why is the school system so segregated? Does it matter what color or financial background we have? Comparing to top notch schools everything is available to them thus they are producing better results. The public schools also face the problem of lack of qualified teachers. The limited qualified teachers they have, use they own funds to bring better education for students. One of the examples the book mentions is that the city of Chicago tends to use its tax revenue for things such as police, fire department and public health and whatever is left goes to public schools. The wealth is not equally distributed.  Due to limited funds provided to public schools, the schools are not able to buy enough books and equipment to cater for each student. This might be the factor for the high dropout rate in public schools.

Underdog Lyrics Review

"This is for my folkers who got bills overdue" is the first line for the lyrics Underdog by The Coup. This line caught my attention as we all get bills everyday and then we face the problem of trying to catch up  paying all of it. These bills are the outcomes of the power of the society we are living in. Just to be able to survive we have to overcome obstacles each and every day.  The artist also mentions  that " crime rises consistent with the poverty rate". As people are not able to find jobs, trying to survive,  the brutality of life becomes hard which leads to crime. " You take the workers and jobs, you're gonna have murders and mobs" which states that each day people get laid off from work so they try to find others means to get money to survive. The increase in cost of living has made the poverty rate increase whereby the people who were middle waged family are also being classified as below poverty line . The artist mentions " You gotta hustle 'cause they're trying to push and shove you. The "they" mentioned in the quote is the society we are all living in. We are being "pushed" and "shoved" so that they society can run properly. But is the society taking care of us? Just living each day without worrying is impossible. " When she breathe, she swear it feels like plastic wrap around her face"which represents the burdens of everyday life suffocating people. This burdens which sometimes kills a person from within just trying to cater for themselves and their loved ones. Parents work 12 hour shifts just so that their children can have roof over their head and food on the table. Tired and exhausted but a parent never backs down without a fight as the artist mentions " Big ol' spoons of peanut butter, big ass glass of water, makes the hunger subside, save the real for you daughter"

English Essay 1

Cynthia Deo

2/14/15

English 1A

            Has the current education system been failing us? As a student, one always questions on the topic of education and why is it important to each individual. Being an individual in today’s society we spend most of our time going to school and then later on going to work. This cycle continues from generation to generation. Most of a person’s life is spent following routines day after day. The expectation of the current society has changed from creating educated individuals to running the school as a business. The different problems which arises from this situation is the lack of creativity in schools, life is spent as a routine and the lack of communication between teachers and students.

            Each individual is unique in his/her way. Their way of learning may different from other students. The school system pushes these creative minds aside and puts packets and books in front of them and expects them to learn. Alexis Neikirk mentions in the movie Recycling the gift: The Passion Project II that school system are telling us to “jump through all these hoops that would make you a professional person in today’s society? Because once you do this, you get this piece of paper that says you are ready to enter the world”. Is having this paper that important, to be accepted in today’s society? As a student, we are limited to be able to show our creative talents but rather follow the ways of society.

            Going to school should be more than being taught something but it should be a place where learning takes place. If we look at the schools in our society, we have books, lecture notes and then exams. From the tender age of six years old to the age of being an adult, the education system seems to be same. We are noticed in a class if we follow this system, which will guarantee our success in future. Why can’t we bring creative means of learning new things and a steady pace without using a lot of books or packets but having hands on study guidelines? The education of an individual is important to the future of the world. Being educated is like being trapped a cave whereby one only learns what the system seems appropriate. The movie The Cave: The Adaptation of Plato Allegory shows us that the things which we are taught in schools are just shadows and egos which as a student we are not able to comprehend. A world without memorizing and exams becomes unreal. It’s more like “survival of the fittest” in the school environment. Those who follow all these rules and regulation seems to be successful but those who try to experience the education system with their own perspective seem to be less successful.

            Educations seems to be oppressed into students rather than students actually being interested and learning things being taught to them. The author Paulo Freire mention in his article that “the banking concept of education, in which the scope of action allowed to the students extends only as far as receiving, filing, and storing information”. The “banking concept” is the system used in the current society where as students we receive information through books and teachers and we have to store this education till the exams. Most of this information is erased after the exams. Why are we learning this concepts if we would not be able to store all this information? The author mentions that we as students are like containers and teachers just fill us up. A student just takes the information, stores it and repeats it back to the teacher. Students are more like machines rather than human beings. Society accepts those who are willing and dedicated to these routines and have perfected them.

            The life of an individual is mostly a routine. Since the day a person is born he/ she follows a routine day in and day out. Sometimes we are not aware of what happens in our surrounding, as the only thought we carry is based around our lives. A child starts going to school at the tender age of six and from then on continues his/her education. Each morning we wake up to go to school and come back home and the same routine becomes repetitive. The education system also has a routine how we all follow. Bobby John mentions in the movie Recycling the Gift: The Passion Project II that “students are just interested about the test. They’ll ask on the first day how many test do we have? It is all questions about the test”. As a student we all know that if we go to school we are going have notes in class than exams to test what we have learnt. It is a routine for all students to have exams and to have a good grade to progress to the level of education.

            Does this routines we follow necessary in our lives? Education can have a different method of teaching procedures practiced in schools for each individuals to be able to learn efficiently. The same routines for schools have not changed even though the technology have advanced. Jeff Andrade Duncan mentions in his interview that “when you walk into schools they look exactly the same in the way they operate and the way they teach and the way they deliver information like they did forty years ago.” Each student nowadays carry a smartphone which has internet and they have abundance of information present whenever they need it. The teaching method of the school system is still following the method of teaching whereby students memorize and thus do exams. Learning can be a revolution. As years have gone by, new ideas of learning has been introduced to the education system. Are this ideas healthy for our society or are these changes hurting us? The speaker Ken Robinson mentions that people in everyday basis do not enjoy what they do but they try to endure it. Most of these people look forward to the weekend as they don't have to go work or school. Only a minority of these people actually enjoy each day of their lives. They might choose a certain profession only because it pays good money or go to school to obtain certain degrees because they parents wanted them to do it. There seems to be limited freedom of choice in today's society. Kids as young as 3 years old are being looked as if they should have accomplished lot in life. Each individual should be given their space to grow and flourish according to their age. Education should be fulfilling people’s spirits not only their minds. Education can also be flexible so that we are able to personalize it to make it interesting and thus bringing joy to our lives. We as individuals should not be kept in the dark but be able to explore our surroundings and expand.

            The ways of life sometimes does not make us realize what we are missing out of life. There seems to so much change and development for the better. Individuals are being educated to be the future of tomorrow but do we have any idea what future holds for us? As an individual what are the chances we will get the career we always dreamt for. David Foster Wallace in his commencement speech said that “The real value of a real education which has (almost) nothing to do with knowledge and almost everything to do with simple awareness”.  There are times where learning is not always the process of being taught by books or lecture notes but by experiences. The experiences of life teaches us how to survive it as it progresses, on the other hand, the education system turns out to be the exact opposite. It is all about memorizing notes but how do much retain for use in our everyday lives.

            Communication is the essence of a better relationship. With the help of communication different types of problems are solved. In the education system there seems to be less communication between the teachers and students thus causing a malfunctioned relationship. There seems to be a one way communication which is mostly the teacher relaying information to her students but there is little to no feedback. Paulo Freire mentions in his article Pedagogy of the Oppressed that “The teacher cannot think for her students, nor can she impose her thought on them”. The aspect that comes into effect is the right of choice. Students have the right to education and how they can learn more effectively. Teachers should have flexible teaching methods for students. One of the aspects of a good teacher is that he/she should be approachable whereby the students feel comfortable asking those questions for better learning purpose.

            A students spends about six to seven hours in a school. Teachers should be a forum of encouragement to students. In times of doubt or failure a teacher should comfort his/her students and encourage those to learn from their mistakes rather give. This types of behavior is rarely shown in a school system. The main concern for some teachers is their pay checks or lack of resources by the system for those teachers who try to help their students to be successful. The video of Jeff Bliss is an example of how teachers react when confronted about their teaching methods. The teacher just asked him to leave the classroom. Is this how the current education system treat their future? The students of the current generation find it hard to learn if they are just given instructions but told to do things themselves. They need teachers to communicate with them and to be given the opportunity to ask creative questions about what they might be learning. The students of High tech High students follow these creative ways of learning. One of the examples that was given in the video was how they do math by painting. It is creative and the students get to learn by the way they feel comfortable and understandable. Learning subjects like math or physics can be frustrating with the equations and numbers but just being to formulate different ways to learn makes it easier.

            Is education like a business trying to manipulate the minds of students? In some point of our lives we think various reasons of why we are going to school. To be educated for our career and what comes after that. We spend our life going to school, getting a job, getting married, taking care pf kids and then we get old and die. If we think about it, everyone seems to have the same goals in life.  We are always told to do things a certain way and you will be successful. If we do not follow the rules and regulations of society we are considered criminals. Our opinions about life and how we can live it are always taken for granted. In the video we watched in class " Recycling the Gift: The Passion Project II", we get to see different thoughts expressed by people about the education system. Emily Heltzel states that “school’s kind of like in support of a capitalist society". I believe that this is true we are trained to be used by businesses, and thus we pay taxes to the government. We are like machines, manufactured in schools and sold to companies for their productive purposes.

            To conclude, it can be said that generations have gone by but the methods used by schools to teach their students have remained the same. There have been advancements in technology and the way of thinking by the students thus we as students find it hard to be able to learn anything without memorizing. The communication levels between the students and teachers are at a minimum. Thus students find it difficult to be able to learn effectively. The education system is like a business manufacturing students in such a way to be able to be used in the workforce for the future companies. Each year thousands of students graduate but do they all get the job dream of. This is a question that staggers in each individuals minds.

            

Recycling the Gift: The Passion Project II"

Is education like a business trying to manipulate the minds of students? In some point of our lives we think various reasons of why we are going to school. to be educated for our career and what comes after that. We spend our life going to school, getting a job, getting married, taking care pf kids and then we get old and die. If we think about it,  everyone seems to have the same goals in life.  We are always told to do things a certain way and you will be successful. If we do not follow the rules and regulations of society we are considered criminals. Our opinions about life and how we can live it are always taken for granted. In the video we watched in class " Recycling the Gift: The Passion Project II", we get to see different thoughts expressed by people about the education system. Emily Heltzel states that " school's kind of like in support of a capitalist society". I believe that this is true we are trained to be used by businesses, and thus we pay taxes to the government. We are like machines, manufactured in schools and sold to companies for their productive purposes.