Reflection on AP Language

  My experience as a student in AP Language was overall very challenging, yet entertaining. I came into the classroom without having the proper abilities to write essays, read difficult writings, etc. I believe that my mind grew day by day in this class. All of the activities we did in this class helped me understand the true meaning of intelligence. I was never exposed to such difficult tasks before; i realized that i do have the ability to gain the great knowledge of an AP student. In the beginning, I was actually a bit intimidated by the work and by the teacher because I honestly thought the classroom environment would be really strict. However, as days went by, i noticed how this AP was going to be exciting just because my teacher was different from the rest of the teachers who ever taught me. I had the chance to put my mind in the challenge of writing essays. I remember the first argumentative essay i wrote in this class. I was astonished to know that my teacher thought it was pretty good for my first time. I remember she asked me,"How long did it take you to write this?'' When i heard her ask that, i thought she was going to say that my essay wasn't good, but i was glad to hear the opposite. I enjoyed writing essays throughout the school year.However, i did have some difficulty in writing my essays with the proper vocabulary and diction. Even if the school year is over i will keep on trying to improve my writing. Moreover, the activity that i loved the most was reading the novel, ''Narrative of the life of Fredrick Douglass an American Slave". I loved this activity because it informed me about Fredrick Douglass and the experience he had in being a slave. This novel on Fredrick Douglass was the first non fiction book i found interesting. I also had the chance to use Fredrick Douglass as an example in some essays i wrote. The activity i did not really enjoy was the imitations because i believe that i didn't pay attention to the diction on the writings even if i had to copy them three times. I actually just copied them fast just to get the work done.

My experience in AP Language was amazing and stressful at the same time. It was stressful  because my brain was not used to deep thinking and reading. I gained knowledge in this class i will carry on later on in my education. Although the person that helped me in this course may be leaving to another job, her words, her advice, her attitude, her uniqueness, and her humor will always be in my memory; as the first teacher to teach me information i was never introduced before.

Invisible Man "Beyond the Book"

#4 Research Washington, Dubois, and Garvey. What do you see to be strong and weak points in their philosophies?

- Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Dubois, and Marcus Garvey had different ideas on making a difference for the black race.Washington's  philosophy of “request” not “protest” allowed him to gain the respect of presidents and politicians. His strong point was that the best interests of black people in the post-Reconstruction era could be realized through education in the crafts and industrial skills and the talented tenth" and that education is a cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift. His weak point was that to suggest to the African American community on temporarily abandoning their efforts to win full civil rights and political power and instead to cultivate their industrial and farming skills so as to attain economic security. W.E.B Dubois focused to touch on the subject of education. His strong point was that every class of people in history had a "Talented Tenth" and that education shouldn't  just teach work but teach life.

Marcus Garvey's strong point was that to be fully successful, the African American community must totally separate themselves from the white community and create their own homeland in Africa. This included starting Negro owned businesses, abandoning the feeling of hate, and beginning their own culture in Africa.Garvey's weak point was that he suggested was that communism would be more beneficial for Whites by solving their own political and economic problems, but it would further limit the success of blacks rising together. All of these important men in history made points to the African American community but many of their ideas were challenged.

 Booker T. Washington

W.E.B. Dubois 

Marcus Garvey

Accused Harvard Student of Bomb threat was"Under Pressure"

 A Harvard student accused of making a bomb threat to get out of a final exam was under a great deal of pressure and seems remorseful, his lawyer said Wednesday after his client was freed on bail.

The U.S. attorney's office in Boston alleges Kim sent hoax emails Monday saying shrapnel bombs would go off soon in two of four buildings on Harvard's Cambridge, Mass., campus. The emails came minutes before he was to take a final exam in one of the buildings.Eldo Kim, 20, was released on $100,000 bond into the custody of his sister, who lives in Massachusetts, and an uncle from North Carolina. Attorneys did not say where he will stay.

The buildings were shut down for hours before investigators determined there were no explosives.

Federal public defender Ian Gold says Kim was dealing with finals and the third anniversary of his father's death, which is this month.

"It's finals time at Harvard," Gold said. "In one way, we're looking at the post-9/11 equivalent of pulling a fire alarm. Certainly I'm not saying the government response was unjustified, but it's important to keep in mind we're dealing with a 20-year-old man who was under a great deal of pressure."

- I believe it's pretty insane to make a bomb threat to the school just to get out of an exam. It's understanding that a student will be under pressure. In fact, just about every student feels under pressure when taking a final exam. I don't think you can use a family member's death to back up why you might not be able to be ready for a final exam. There is a difference between your personal life and your education. Probably this bomb threat hoax could of been avoided by simply getting well prepared for the final exam on time. It's better to get a C on a final exam rather than getting arrested and identified as an accused bomber to the whole nation. Another flaw i think Harvard stiudents have is that they crave that "A" and not a B or a C. Everything is not always going to come out perfect or the way you want it to be. Therefore, they should keep their standards high but not over do it.

High School Seniors don't think it's a big deal smoking Marijuana daily

More than 60 percent of American high school seniors do not think regular marijuana use is harmful, a new survey conducted by the National Institutes of Health's Monitoring the Future project finds.

That figure is up from 55 percent in 2012 and considerably higher than rates from the past two decades.

The survey also found 6.5 percent of 12th-graders smoke marijuana daily, up from 6 percent in 2003 and 2.4 percent in 1993.

It also showed that marijuana use increases with age.

Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of the seniors say they smoked marijuana in the month before the survey, and just over 36 percent say they smoked it during the past year.

Among 10th-graders, 4 percent say they use marijuana daily, 18 percent within the past month and 30 percent in the past year.

More than 12 percent of eighth-graders say they used marijuana in the past year, the survey found.

By contrast, use of alcohol and cigarettes among teens continues to steadily decline.

- These new findings do not surprise me at all. I believe that many students are involved in some type of drug or in alcohol. Maybe the seniors do not believe that daily use of Marijuana is bad because they are satisfied with the effects it has on them. According to social sites or television programs,weed is considered to only give you good effects and that it is pretty harmless. Many young Americans even believe that Marijuana is better and safer than alcohol. Day by day, there is a high school student smoking Marijuana just to feel the effects or to simply look "cool" for their friends. Young people do not think about any consequences Marijuana can hold.

Wrong or Right Father?

A father’s attempt to teach his son a lesson for taking his truck without permission ended in tragedy Monday after a local police officer shot the teenager dead.

James Comstock told the Des Moines Register he called the police on his son Tyler after the latter took the former’s truck in retaliation for refusing to buy him cigarettes.

Ames Police Officer Adam McPherson reportedly spotted the lawn care company vehicle and pursued it onto the Iowa State University campus, where a brief standoff ensued after Tyler allegedly refused orders to turn off the engine.

McPherson eventually fired six shots into the truck, two of which struck Tyler who was later pronounced dead.

The official report claims the action was necessary in order “to stop the ongoing threat to the public and the officers.”

Tyler’s dad says he was unarmed at the time.

“So he didn’t shut the damn truck off, so let’s fire six rounds at him?” exclaimed Gary Shepley, Tyler’s step-grandfather. “We’re confused, and we don’t understand.”

James said his son had his fair share of minor troubles with the law, and was distraught over a recent breakup with his girlfriend, but was in the process of turning his life around, and was working on obtaining his GED at Des Moines Area Community College.

“He was a smart kid. He made his own computers. He was interested in IT,” James told the Register.

The family’s demands for answers got even louder following the revelation that a member of the Ames police department suggested twice that officers call off the chase.

“He took off with my truck. I call the police, and they kill him,” James said. “”It was over a damn pack of cigarettes.”

McPherson is currently on paid leave pending the results of his department’s investigation.

-I believe this is a tragic event in which the father of a young man was trying to teach his son a lesson.It makes me believe that even the smallest things people argue about can actually bring life changing consequences. This young man was looking forward in fixing up his education and  was going through a rough time in which he Had a break up with someone. At the same time i do not think its very right to call the police on your own child just because they wanted to buy some cigarettes.However, bringing a threat to people around him can give a reason to call the authorities.

A new form of bullying?

There has currently been a great use of a website called Ask.fm. Ask.fm allows people to create a profile with their picture and information about themselves. Any person or a current user can access the profiles of other users and can choose to ask a them any question anonymously or to identify their user information along with the question they ask.Many believe it's a great way to compliment people or to simply ask positive questions. Sounds fun right? Well, there has been many problems dealing with his website. Although Ask.fm has a positive purpose, many teenagers are using the website as a way to insult and harass their peers. There are several users of Ask.fm  that are being bullied by anonymous people and such actions can create negative thoughts to young people.As users can anonymously say whatever they want to others, these type of sites have led to cyberbullying and even suicides.

Therefore, there are many parents taking action concerning this website. Parents fear that their child may be using this site and may even be either a victim or a bully using Ask.fm.According to Joan Early, Teens flock to Ask.fm but is the social media site dangerous?, suicides of nine teenagers have been linked to Ask.fm this year alone. Jessica Laney hung herself after she was bullied relentlessly through her Ask.fm account, according to her family.  Anonymous users called Jessica "fat" and "a slut." One post read, "Can you kill yourself already?" The harassment proved to be too much for the Florida teen to take. I believe this website should be taken down as it can cause conflicts upon teenagers. Many people encourage us to stop bullying right? So there should be action taken against Ask.fm.

Education

I believe that everyone needs education no matter what the circumstances are. However, there has to be a correct way to introduce education to young minds as well. In order to take advantage of education one must be taught things the correct way. Speech is the number one thing that should be taught correctly to make his or her education valuable. There are many children among us that are used to speaking with slang. Slang is taught by where they are living at which can be by parents or relatives. Education should be helpful to change those habits that children are so used to, or even adults as well.

Patience is an important thing about education. Everyone does not have the same capabilites to learn fast and fully understand a certain topic or lesson. Teachers and parents should have the most patience with children in order to obtain the results of the education they are giving them. Everything does not come easily, there has to be work put in to make good progess in the later future.

Education changes many people's lives around state to state. If you obtain good education, there are so many opportunities into having a good life in the future. Education gives minds determination to do so many things. It opens up people's eyes to many new outlooks on certain opportunities they are capable of working for. Education can be the key to your most desirable wishes. Such as having a career in the medical field, being a lawyer, a social worker, a scientist, etc.