Monday Matters #16

     For the past three weeks three articles have been summarized. The articles all dealt with complications in education. Very similar in the topic but varying in the problems. These three problems can conjure a conversation between the authors because these are all problems that can and should be fixed because they are closely related to one another. One article talks about how students need to be taken out of the "safe zone" with books, another talks about the problem with test's and how many disagree with the Common Core State Standards, and the last article talks about how "America's education system is unequal and unfair." The first two articles are in correlation with each other more than the third because these are minor problems compared to the major problem stated by the last article. However, they could be brought up all together because the first two problems could cause the last problem. There is a dilemma in the middle of this and it all surrounds the problems with education and how people should reform it.

Monday Matters #15

       "America's education system is unequal and unfair." Very straightforward and to the point right? These words come from Peter Dreier the author of this article called "America's Classist Education System." He discusses the differences on education systems between wealthy communities and communities not so fortunate. The wealthy communities have it so much better and a bigger advantage because they have more trained teachers, smaller classrooms to get more time one-on-one with teachers if needed, the students of these wealthy neighborhood schools have the technology that is in the world now so they are up to date, and also have the better environments like libraries and even sports facilities. It's easy to assume that theses students who attend these schools do better than the students in the poor communities. The students have a higher chance of graduating getting and getting into prestigious colleges.
     On the other hand, many students from less prosperous neighborhoods aren't so lucky. Because of lower paying jobs due to no education for the parents themselves, they cannot afford to send their children to a more prestigious school for grammar school, high school, or college. The problem of how helping other families that are poor is even discussed because its not possible to help when the families of that community are poor as well. These families are stuck between a rock and a hard place with no way out. The way the schools are set up makes the education system "unequal and unfair" there are no fair chances for everyone because of this gap between prosperous and not prosperous.

Monday Matters #14

      There are a variety of test's students take throughout their student lives. For example, tests like the ACT, SAT, and even other test's like a test for history class that we get certain grades for the number correct we score. Some might consider those test to be easy and not as challenging. However, many disagree with Common Core State Standards, which is a set of quality academic standards in math and english language arts. One author, Grant Wiggins, took the time to look over eight graders math results specifically and found something that "appalled" him. He found that the hardest questions on those test's were "picayune, isolated, and needlessly complex calculations of numbers using scientific notation." In the article, there are examples that show how  poorly the students did. For example, there were five questions that the students faced but only 36% of all of New York 8th graders got them correct. The introduction to the tests that are about how items will be discussed were also criticized because the author also says that it "gets worse."Not only was the introduction criticized, but so was the "rationale" to the correct answers saying that all the other choices are "plausible" but they are incorrect in the decision made saying that thats when it "gets worse." He points out how in the rationale, the same sentences appear and the only changes made are the letter choices. There is no evidence shown and that all we learn is nothing about student understanding. "New York State teachers deserve better"

Monday Matters #13

    Heres a question. We all want children to be in a safe environment when we children and teens, including myself, are at school. However, should school be treacherous when it comes down to gritty learning? Frank Bruni can answer this question with his article on "The Wilds of Education".  Frank Bruni explains how education is supposed to "provoke, disrupt, challenge the paradigms that young people have consciously embraced." He believes that books are supposed to ignite the fire for wisdom and school to be the perfect environment for it all to happen. He gives the names of seven books that were banned by high school administrators. For example, "An Abundance of Katherines," by John Green because it was deemed "too sexually frank," and "The Working Poor: Invisible in America," by David Shipler because it refrenced rape and abortion. He says these books aren't as bad as "Fifty Shades of Grey" which i heard to be very graphic in it's descriptions. He describes the trouble standardized tests had with the words they used like slavery and poverty because it might cause uneasiness inside the student because of those little words. He also doesn't give teachers a good name by saying the "inflate grades"rather than challenging the student. which also leads the to taking it easy on themselves in college by only taking classes they CAN rather than what TROUBLES and CHALLENGES them. It leads to misuse of education. Education is growing and evolving and sugar coating the process does not motivate anyone. He paraphrases a credible man named Garth Stein who recalled himself in eight grade and how he took a recommended book which had bullies who would pick on one kid and it made him angry but said "it was a situation alien to his own experience. That's also why he needed to be exposed to it"

Monday Matters #12

    When faced in a situation between two people, topics, sides or anything, all people tend to pick a certain side. In the case of the ebola epidemic i have to agree with John D Sutter from Monday Matters 9 who says ebola is a major problem, James Barty from Monday Matters 10 who says western aid is needed to prevent another ebola epidemic, and the political cartoon from Monday Matters 11 which displays how the Center for Disease Control lies to us, the people. I agree with John because ebola is a vast problem. It is not in the United states however it's still a very sizable problem facing third world countries. I agree with James because if we don't help when we have all the resources that can destroy ebola how are we supposed to completely eliminate it and if not that, at least calm it down and contain it. I also agree with the political cartoon because i feel as if the government actually does lie to us to keep us calm and give the impression that everything is fine and under control.
      On the other hand however, the authors Declan Butler who thought opposite from John D Sutter, Shikha who opposed James Barty, and CDC which differs the political cartoon that portrayed them lying. I oppose all of these because I've noticed that all three of these sources state that we shouldn't help, ebola isn't a major problem to deal with, and also that our government is telling the truth. What these sources lack is sympathy because who would would say these suffering people don't need help and lie that everything is being solved and that the problem is small? People without a heart and who have the characteristic of being self centered say that.

Monday Matters #11

            The government. Some people say they tell truth many say they lie. The majority of people agree that that is true with CDC,Center for Disease Control, on the topic of ebola. In this political cartoon it shows a clear example of that claim. From this cartoon we can infer so much. Pictures are worth a thousand words as said by Fred R. Barnard. This cartoon depicts that the CDC, which is on the character's hazmat suit, lies to the people using a fake spokes person while they feed the spokes person with the words to say. CDC is "claiming" that ebola is under control however the characters face shows otherwise because he has a neurotic look. It is clear to us that CDC is lying to us all.
       Other sources differ however. This source is from CDC themselves. Everything said in this press release was never so negative that it would cause major widespread of panic. They say everything the people want to her. It talks about the importance of continuing their work because the decrease of cases in reports have suggested it. It gave statistics on how ebola has decreased from 95% of people who tested positive for ebola to 25%. These two sources contrast dramatically and are nowhere comparable

Monday Matters #10

     Ebola has become a global crisis and has infected many. It has even reached our own country. Some believe its because of the western aid we gave to help stop the spread of ebola. For example, Shikha Dalmia, a senior policy analyst at Reason Foundation, says that "foreign aid also had a big hand in creating Africa's Ebola problem in the first place." She says that strong leading powers of the world have never been good at successfully identifying similar emergencies because we it is not in their mother land. She says that even global agencies have criticized America and other Western countries for their slow response and allowing ebola to infect 10,000 people. Almost half of those people dying due to ebola. Dalmia is almost calling us unintelligent because she proclaims that ebola is not as contagious as a flu. The only way of catching it would be contact with bodily fluids of those infected. However, its been so sophisticated for us to stop it.
      There is a contrasting view saying that western aid IS essential to prevent another ebola outbreak. James Barty, who is a senior adviser to the Legatume, said "The west must continue to help countries like Sierra Leone to prevent a future outbreak" Western aid helps build an effective health system to countries with low ranks in the health index. This aid will help these countries raise up healthcare spending which will reduce the chance of an epidemic like ebola from happening again. Help from countries that have 2.9 hospital beds per 1,000 people like America, compared to Sierra Leone which has .4 hospital beds per 1,000 people will help keep epidemics like and similar to this from happening again. Help is essential to getting rid of virus epidemics across the world.

Monday Matters #9

       In issues there are always different opinions on topics because people look at everything differently. For example there are different views on war, politics, and crime. Here is an example of different views on ebola. There are opinions from two different authors. Those authors are John D Sutter  who claims that ebola is a big problem and Declan Butler who states that the ebola outbreak is not a global threat.
       Many differences rise in each of the articles. John uses what Liberia said they needed to fight the virus. They asked for 2.4 million boxes of protective gloves-- and 85,000 body bags. This has a big effect on the people who read it because it makes people feel sympathy. John got his facts from interviews from BBC and research done by Universities. This information given by him is very reliable because it is factual and not opinion based because of the sources provided. The author makes a proposal saying that we need to show the countries effected by ebola more sympathy.
       Declan Butler has a different view on ebola. He states there is no global threat. he helps his claim by showing how hard it is for ebola to spread. However, he never states how big it is now and how many people are effected by it. Declan's information is reliable because he has information from health organizations and reports. However, the problems in the countries were never presented to us and how big it really is so it is not as reliable as John Sutter's information. He is almost hiding the seriousness of the problem and sugar coating it. He does also state that we need to trust health workers and trust what they say.

Monday Matters #8

          Peggy Noonan made her position on society and government very clear. She states the citizens of America are being lied to, the government has problems, and Barack Obama isn't doing a good enough job for our country. In the political cartoon, Lied To You, it supports Peggy Noonan's position.  What is in the political cartoon is America's leader, Barack Obama. He is giving the State of the Union Address except under that caption there are the words "This guy lied to you about Obama Care, Benghazi, jobs" In the background there are two congressman listening as well.
          The cartoon has some of the lies that Barack Obama has claimed. Peggy wouldn't be considered Barack Obama's number one fan. Stating what he lied about helps her argument. The word "lie" also goes into her argument of our own government lying to us for the greater good or to save themselves from people hearing the gritty truth. In the background there are two congressman sitting. Those two people could possibly be a republican and a democrat. beforehand she argued against the two parties and how democrats need reformation rather than going after republicans. This political cartoon does a very fine job of explaining Peggy Noonan's position. This is an example of how pictures are worth a thousand words.

Monday Matters #7

Peggy Noonan

    Peggy Noonan has discussed issues happening between democrats and republicans, Barrack Obama, and how the government lies to its' own people. These three issues deal with the idea of politics and its complications. Her view on society after declaring what she has in her recent posts is troubled. First she criticized Obama for not thinking wisely. Secondly she stated the problem between republicans and democrats. Lastly, she talked about how our own government isn't always truthful to its own citizens. All three of her articles weren't positive. Therefore, Peggy views society as perturbed. 

Monday Matters #6

The New Bureaucratic Brazenness

        Peggy Noonan, in this article, talked about how the government doesn't need to be truthful anymore. She called what the government says, "propaganda."One major point that really stuck out in her article was one of her examples. When ebola came into play there was a man from the health agency who came out and stated that his "number one priority is the nations health." however, Peggy stated that his "number one priority is to forestall a sense of panic." Peggy said "Americans do not have confidence in what the Officials tell them anymore." There are people who do tell the truth though, she called those people "whistleblowers." Those people are the people who know the real truth because they work inside the agencies. A nation can't be a rich one if the government keeps lying to the nations people. Its not healthy for the people and causes unrest. Peggy was in favor of the people who suffer and are mislead by the government. She is writhing this for people who are interested in what she says and for people who feel like they want to prove a point to others that we are being lied to and need someone who is credible to help their claim. She uses deductive reasoning to give us a general idea of what she is saying then provides several specific examples as to really support her claim. Her purpose of that strategy is to make people believe what she is saying is true. She wants people to see that the government isn't truthful and only does it for the greater good. 

Monday Matters #5

Republicans need a direction

They could win by default but thats not enough

  What peggy Noonan stated in this article was that Republicans aren't doing a good job to take over congress which aren't big fans of the democratic president. She does state however, that republicans do have a special job and their ideas are very "welcomed." Why she said they are welcomed is because she says that the democratic party is running out of ideas. She also points out the question "when you have a poor brand, do you spend all your time saying the other guy is worse? Or do you start rebuilding you reputation?." She believes that the democrats should stop pointing out again republicans and should fix themselves before they blame someone else. Peggy's audience in this situation would be the people who are trying to decide between republicans or democrats. However, she is in favor of republicans and uses the rhetorical strategy of diction and a minuscule proportion of comparing and contrasting. She uses these strategies to persuade people who are going to vote, to think about republicans and not just vote democrats. Peggy wants people to really think about elections and make people pay attention to republicans. 

Monday Matters #4

Unwisdom of Barack Obama

By Peggy Noonan

What Peggy Noonan stated in her article about Barack Obama was that he's not a "softy" as said by Zbigniew Brezezinski to Mr. Baker about what the president's critics think of him. Peggy also states that Barack obama is very intelligent and knows how to use words or rhetoric but that Mr. Obama misses the "bigger Picture" as Peggy declares. Peggy thinks that he can absorb "data" but can't see the whole entire outcome of his decisions. Another thing Peggy pointed out was that in his speech he said something to the people that didn't necessarily go with the topic at hand. He was supposed to be addressing the problem in Syria, however, he talked about the economy. Peggy, because of what he stated in the speech about the economy, thinks that Barrack is the source of public unhappiness because he is our president as do many people. Peggy Noonan in this article didn't really put a positive impression on our nations leader.

Monday Matters #3

In this political cartoon there is a variety of different techniques of rhetoric. Using the rhetorical triangle, the subject of this political cartoon is the false promises made by Obama to Americans. The speaker is Rick Mckee. The audience who would be looking at this would be the people who go on audience watchers and also people who find interest in political cartoons.  This visual also shows ethos, logos, and pathos. It shows ethos because it states that he was last years First prize winner of the United Nations/ Ranan Lurie Political Cartoon Award. Pathos because thats how he feels about Obama lying. He shows a man with a depressed face. Also, he shows logos by showing a butler serving food with the case titled promises. However, when the butler lifts it theres a bone saying reality which shows how they were tricked and fooled. It shows people the reality, which is stated in the picture, the truth. It makes people uneasy and makes them think of how that is true and how they were tricked. Pictures like this change elections.

Monday Matter's #2

          In this editorial of the downed plane the author states that even though the Russian separatists cleared some debris and gave some bodies back he believes they destroyed the evidence they need to get to the bottom of the situation. Washington said that the missile was brought from Russia so there is an idea that russian separatist conspired a plan to shoot down the plane. If Russia doesn't take responsibility for their actions they will have a heavy burden to pay for.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201407230022

Monday Matters #1

Malaysian Calls for a New Search on MH17 remains!

         The Malaysian Prime Minister, Najib Razak, calls for another Search on the Boeing 777 that was shot down in July. The remains of the passengers aboard Flight 17 are still in Eastern Ukraine. The Prime Ministers objective now is to retrieve the body parts of the victims from this crash that are still scattered across the Eastern Ukraine Fields. The Prime Minister said to reporters that they will work closely with Australia, Ukraine, and The Netherlands to find all of the remains to return them to the victims families. The flight was supposed to be traveling from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. 298 people were killed and two-thirds of those were from The Netherlands.

http://wgntv.com/2014/09/06/malaysian-prime-minister-calls-for-new-search-for-mh17-remains/