Smooth Operations
The Problem discussed in this article is the rising number of African Americans who feel that they need plastic surgery to perfect themselves. I found it interesting that African Americans reasons behind not getting surgery seemed to have more to do with not upsetting their family or insulting their ancestors.(pg 552) There really wasn't a solution that was written in the article, it was more of a discussion about the rising statistics and the differences between what the different races prefer.
Are Limits on Freedom of Speech Ever Justifies?
This was more of an intro to the Chapter than an article but it was a good start. It would make me want to read the rest of the chapter.
Why We Need to Abolish the FCC?
The problem discussed in this article is the control that the FCC has over our freedom of speech and whose interest they are protecting. The right of freedom of speech is something that many hold dear, but what one person finds morally OK and what another does may be totally different. Is it OK for a committee of people who may have a strong Catholic religion say what is right for a person who is an atheist to hear and see? I do not completely agree with this article, but I disagree less. I do understand that there are children watching certain shows and parents want to protect what they see, but for someone I don't know telling me what is and is not OK to hear I feel isn't right. The solution that this writer gives is to abolish the FCC, that we were founded on the freedom of speech and that the FCC is taking that right away.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Body Image
Problem:
The problem in this article is that with the pressure from media and it's images of normal bodies, teens get the wrong impression of whats expected of themselves from the very beginning. They even use the unproportioned body of the barbie and ken dolls as an exmple. On page 538 they compare in the table what barbie and kens size would be in real life and compare it to the real average person. It also states on that same page "If Barbie were real, given her proportions, she would barely be able to stand upright." Whether they are getting it from their toys, magazines, or tv shows, the images being sent to kids is telling them what our entertainment world preceives as normal.
Solution:
The only solution that this author seems to offer is to do screenings for body image issues and help each child "foster a healthy body image."(p.540)
General:
I do agree that doing screenings might help, but I would think that there would be more answers than that.
The problem in this article is that with the pressure from media and it's images of normal bodies, teens get the wrong impression of whats expected of themselves from the very beginning. They even use the unproportioned body of the barbie and ken dolls as an exmple. On page 538 they compare in the table what barbie and kens size would be in real life and compare it to the real average person. It also states on that same page "If Barbie were real, given her proportions, she would barely be able to stand upright." Whether they are getting it from their toys, magazines, or tv shows, the images being sent to kids is telling them what our entertainment world preceives as normal.
Solution:
The only solution that this author seems to offer is to do screenings for body image issues and help each child "foster a healthy body image."(p.540)
General:
I do agree that doing screenings might help, but I would think that there would be more answers than that.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Are We Fixing the Wrong Things?
Problem:
To main problem discussed in this article is not necessarily that our education is falling behind from other countries but it does have an effect on it. A report discussed at the beginning on page 619, A Nation At Risk, stated that "Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world." The Education Reform feels that they need to toughen up our education systems and our standardized testing so that other countries like China and Japan do not take all of our jobs in those fields. "China now graduates six times as many engineering majors are the US; South Korea and Japan, four times as many." (pg. 620) I think that the main problem in this article is not necessarily that we might be under educating our children and being outsmarted by other countries but that we are possibly taking away what is important, not just to the US, but to other countries. In the section Our Secret Weapon, it states that other countries hire US employees for their creativity. "The advantage is we come from a very conscientious culture. You tell our people what to do , they'll follow the rules, they"ll do it. The downside is they are not as creative. We fixed that by having a US-based R&D team that's doing more advanced research." (pg. 621) While we are toughen our education and strengthening our testing, other countries like China are loosening up and aiming at more creativity. "As the United States calls for more homework and more study time, China has launched a battle to reduce such burdens on its students." The main problem is not necessarily our lack of a more difficult and structured education, but a good education.
Solution:
A solution that the writer seems to offer in this article is not that we should necessarily toughen up on our education but that we should broaden our education. Instead of it be more difficult, we should teach them more about the world that we are surrounded by. Make our children more prepared for interaction with people from other countries. Make them comfortable with other countries cultures. "We need people who can speak other languages, who understand and respect other cultures, and who realize that globalization and economic development in other nations do not necessarily mean job losses, lower wages, and trade deficit in the United States."
General:
I do agree with this article. I understand that some of our education has been weakened and that we do need to toughen up. But to take away everything that makes us unique is not the best idea for our children. I think that our schools should come up with different classes to teach of the world. If you are comfortable with the knowledge you have on other countries you are dealing with, than you could possibly have the edge that a supposed more intelligent person would have.
This article does partially help me with my topic. Education is an important topic for me to learn a great deal on. I plan on being an educator in my future, I would prefer not to be one that makes class easy, but hopefully makes one interesting.
To main problem discussed in this article is not necessarily that our education is falling behind from other countries but it does have an effect on it. A report discussed at the beginning on page 619, A Nation At Risk, stated that "Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world." The Education Reform feels that they need to toughen up our education systems and our standardized testing so that other countries like China and Japan do not take all of our jobs in those fields. "China now graduates six times as many engineering majors are the US; South Korea and Japan, four times as many." (pg. 620) I think that the main problem in this article is not necessarily that we might be under educating our children and being outsmarted by other countries but that we are possibly taking away what is important, not just to the US, but to other countries. In the section Our Secret Weapon, it states that other countries hire US employees for their creativity. "The advantage is we come from a very conscientious culture. You tell our people what to do , they'll follow the rules, they"ll do it. The downside is they are not as creative. We fixed that by having a US-based R&D team that's doing more advanced research." (pg. 621) While we are toughen our education and strengthening our testing, other countries like China are loosening up and aiming at more creativity. "As the United States calls for more homework and more study time, China has launched a battle to reduce such burdens on its students." The main problem is not necessarily our lack of a more difficult and structured education, but a good education.
Solution:
A solution that the writer seems to offer in this article is not that we should necessarily toughen up on our education but that we should broaden our education. Instead of it be more difficult, we should teach them more about the world that we are surrounded by. Make our children more prepared for interaction with people from other countries. Make them comfortable with other countries cultures. "We need people who can speak other languages, who understand and respect other cultures, and who realize that globalization and economic development in other nations do not necessarily mean job losses, lower wages, and trade deficit in the United States."
General:
I do agree with this article. I understand that some of our education has been weakened and that we do need to toughen up. But to take away everything that makes us unique is not the best idea for our children. I think that our schools should come up with different classes to teach of the world. If you are comfortable with the knowledge you have on other countries you are dealing with, than you could possibly have the edge that a supposed more intelligent person would have.
This article does partially help me with my topic. Education is an important topic for me to learn a great deal on. I plan on being an educator in my future, I would prefer not to be one that makes class easy, but hopefully makes one interesting.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Immigration and Height!
I know the two don't really go together, but my classmates choices forced me to.
Article one, The Hard Truth of Immigration
It is really hard for me to find one particular problem being discussed in this article. It seems that it started off with us trying to find a way to control the immigration coming in, than it turns to the problems of Hispanics poor education. I feel sorry for those discussed who have had their wages lowered two years in a row. Though I do agree that we do not to figure out some sort of solution to our illegal immigrant problem, it seems that all there is is a lot of talking and no action. Even in this article, there is a lot of discussion about the problems but I do not see a solution other than stopping them from crossing our borders and providing legal status for the ones already here.
Article Two, All to Be Tall
When you hear girlfriends talk to each other you will more than likely at some point get to one saying how fat their thighs are or how their short legs make it impossible to fit into cute pants. When you hear guys all talking to each other, you think that its about sports, parties, and sex... OK so I know that's stereotyping but you know what I mean. You never really think of a man uncomfortable with a physical feature, except maybe weight gain. So to read this article about men who will go as far as to have an operation to break their bones just so they MIGHT gain 2 inches in height is amazing. To have to go through so much pain and so much time depending on others for two inches does not seem worth it to me at all. Also to read that taller men make more money and are hired more often than shorter men was an interesting fact to read. I did a lot of hiring with my last job and even though I was not hiring for an extremely professional job, I don't think I ever noticed height. To me it was cleanliness and personality. I guess that if an extra couple of inches really would boost someones confidence that much than it would probably be worth it for me....maybe.
Article one, The Hard Truth of Immigration
It is really hard for me to find one particular problem being discussed in this article. It seems that it started off with us trying to find a way to control the immigration coming in, than it turns to the problems of Hispanics poor education. I feel sorry for those discussed who have had their wages lowered two years in a row. Though I do agree that we do not to figure out some sort of solution to our illegal immigrant problem, it seems that all there is is a lot of talking and no action. Even in this article, there is a lot of discussion about the problems but I do not see a solution other than stopping them from crossing our borders and providing legal status for the ones already here.
Article Two, All to Be Tall
When you hear girlfriends talk to each other you will more than likely at some point get to one saying how fat their thighs are or how their short legs make it impossible to fit into cute pants. When you hear guys all talking to each other, you think that its about sports, parties, and sex... OK so I know that's stereotyping but you know what I mean. You never really think of a man uncomfortable with a physical feature, except maybe weight gain. So to read this article about men who will go as far as to have an operation to break their bones just so they MIGHT gain 2 inches in height is amazing. To have to go through so much pain and so much time depending on others for two inches does not seem worth it to me at all. Also to read that taller men make more money and are hired more often than shorter men was an interesting fact to read. I did a lot of hiring with my last job and even though I was not hiring for an extremely professional job, I don't think I ever noticed height. To me it was cleanliness and personality. I guess that if an extra couple of inches really would boost someones confidence that much than it would probably be worth it for me....maybe.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Supersize Your Child?
This article to me was all about arguing about morals. When it comes to advances on Genetics and DNA there are so many good things that could come out of it its to hard to completely ignore. But there will be a constant fight over everything that has to do with it.
With Stem Cell research, it is a moral argument over harming an unborn child. With genetic modification, is it morally OK to change someones genes so they do not get cancer. The fight with that also is who is going to say what is to far. With genetic modification, you could pick the sex of your child, you could choose whether they are tall or short, fat or skinny.
The argument that is taken in this article is what is to far, who should say it's to far, and who is going to stop those who want to go over the edge when it comes to all of these advances. With the everyone having to many different opinions, one person could say that being a midget is a horrible thing, while another finds it livable and a blessing. Some of the country thinks that there is a gene that decides whether you are gay or not, is that something that a parent should be able to change?
With Stem Cell research, it is a moral argument over harming an unborn child. With genetic modification, is it morally OK to change someones genes so they do not get cancer. The fight with that also is who is going to say what is to far. With genetic modification, you could pick the sex of your child, you could choose whether they are tall or short, fat or skinny.
The argument that is taken in this article is what is to far, who should say it's to far, and who is going to stop those who want to go over the edge when it comes to all of these advances. With the everyone having to many different opinions, one person could say that being a midget is a horrible thing, while another finds it livable and a blessing. Some of the country thinks that there is a gene that decides whether you are gay or not, is that something that a parent should be able to change?
Thursday, January 15, 2009
What to Pick??
When I was told on my first day in class that I would need to pick one topic to write all of my papers about, I immediately starting thinking. In my Composition I class every paper I wrote on was something that I was interested in, but not all the same topic. I had politics, the green movement, international aid, and cancer. With all of them, the decision to write had been easy. They were topics that I found interesting and that I wanted to learn more about.
Looking at the back of the textbook and reading through some of the topics, nothing jumped out at me. Though Freedom of Speech, or sometimes the lack of, is a topic that did catch my attention, it wasn't enough for me.
I want to write something that I feel I need to learn more about. Right now the one topic that comes to mind for this class is Education. I hope to be an educator someday and at this point I still need to learn so much. Whether it is making sure that younger children get a faster start or better education for young adults on sex and drugs, there is many things that I could write about that deals with education. I am just unsure what there is out there for me to write about. I'll probably keep thinking.
Looking at the back of the textbook and reading through some of the topics, nothing jumped out at me. Though Freedom of Speech, or sometimes the lack of, is a topic that did catch my attention, it wasn't enough for me.
I want to write something that I feel I need to learn more about. Right now the one topic that comes to mind for this class is Education. I hope to be an educator someday and at this point I still need to learn so much. Whether it is making sure that younger children get a faster start or better education for young adults on sex and drugs, there is many things that I could write about that deals with education. I am just unsure what there is out there for me to write about. I'll probably keep thinking.
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