Paper 2

Lack of Education
Twelve years of education coming to five minutes on stage shaking the principal’s hand. Some kids never experience this feeling of relief and happiness because they don’t graduation high school. Compulsory education disempowers the American population due to the lack of support, heavy standardized testing, the elongated required amount of time to graduate, and the demographic influence on education.
One flaw with the education system is the required amount of time needed to graduate from high school. A student can feel discouraged by having to complete twelve years of school before graduating. The repetition in school can be frustrating, and students can lose motivation. This flaw of students not graduating creates homeless people that hurt the economy. A prime example is Michael Moore’s Idiot Nation. “There are forty-four million Americans who cannot read and write above a fourth-grade level” (Moore 133). With less education comes ignorance of the American people.
The frustration with the length of time is accompanied with the lack of support from parents and school administration. Without the support of these people, success is limited. This is evident in the film Stand and Deliver (1988). The parents strongly discourage their children from trying new academic experiments. An example in the movie is when the “pretty girl” wants her mom to sign the calculus form. Her mom discourages her and makes a comment: “Boys only care about the outside not the brains”. This doesn’t help the girl’s self-esteem, and it is evident in the movie when they are studying late at night and she becomes irritated quickly by calculus. A similar situation is in Still Separate, Still Unequal by Jonathan Kozol. A girl named Mireya had taken hairdressing twice when she actually wanted to take an AP class (Kozol 253). Mireya was talking to another student that critized her, saying that since her mother sews that she should sew too (Kozol 253). He also mentions that she is “ghetto” and that is another reason for her to sew (Kozol 253).
The administration is vital to the student’s success, and without their support, a school most likely suffers. The administrators are supposed to be the leadership of the school and support the faculty and student body. With lack of support in their school, the student feels unimportant to the education system. In Stand and Deliver (1988), Mr. Escalante was a teacher that wanted to teach AP Calculus. Unfortunately, he did not have the support of his administrators. They laughed and teased him because the students he would be teaching were “bad” but he became successful by himself. He believed that every student could pass the test if they worked hard, no matter what background they had. The vicious cycle of not supporting our students can continue to disempower the American population by the domino effect. If people discourage their children, then their children are most likely going to discourage their own children too.
Demographics of a school or school district disempower the American population with education. In many school districts, the schools tend to compete for funding; it doesn’t matter whether it be endorsed by funding or government. In most school populations, the less funded ones have the highest dropout rate, while the wealthier schools have fewer dropouts. This severely disempowers the American population through academics and extra-curricular activities. Many kids don’t want to attend school because they are not involved. For instance, my best friend was not involved in anything throughout her high school carrier. She always wanted to hang out, but I would be busy with all of my activities. By the end of her senior year, she wished that she could’ve graduated early. Most importantly, it is hard to be involved when there is no funding for the programs. Just like in Stand and Deliver (1988), Mr. Escalante wanted to teach computer science, but he couldn’t because there were no computers.
Diversity is also an important role in compulsory education. If kids are constantly hanging around with the same people, they are never going to experience other things. In Stand and Deliver (1988), the students always were around the same people who can eventually; hinder their ability to have an open mind. Angel always hung around “gangsters” that eventually became a problem because he got in trouble with cops. If a bad district continuously stays the same, the American population is not going to benefit from it. In Still Separate, Still Unequal, a teacher says that she has only had one white student in all her years of teaching (Kozol 240). It is unfortunate to think that our schools are not diverse. How students are supposed to know of the “outside” world when they are secluded to majority students?
Standardizing testing also disempowers the students and puts pressure on them to be the best, or they will fail. At my old high school, a girl took the TAKS (Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills) at least 6 times before passing. Her consequence for not passing was that she wasn’t able to walk at graduation. This disempowers the American population because many students now entering high school become nervous because they know the stakes of the TAKS. Another friend of mine also couldn’t pass the TAKS. She eventually dropped out of high school and received her GED. Standardized testing disempowers the education system because there is no creativity in teaching the material. Each teacher is told to teach material a certain way so that their students can pass the test. This imposes the problem of having no individuality. Kids aren’t able to express their own creative writing styles. This mandatory testing discourages and lowers student’s self-confidence.
In the recent years the compulsory education has become disempowering for the American population. It disempowers through the amount of time students attend school, the school support system, and demographics and standardized testing. It is unfortunate to conclude that education discourages when it is suppose to empower the American population.

Paper 4

Courtney Abadie
English 1310
Micah Robbins
30 October 2007
Word Count: 759
Religion in Public School
In today’s American Society, Christian beliefs are prevalent in many areas of public life. Expression of these Christian beliefs can be seen in many aspects of the public education system. Some of these expressions include: a moment of silence, core curriculum and athletic activities. These aspects in public schools play a role in shaping the American public life.
Many schools begin each day with a moment of silence in which students are allowed to pray, meditate, or reflect. Each state has individual ways of governing the moment of silence. In Texas, for example, the law states that each student has the right to pray or mediate in a non-disruptive atmosphere. In Ohio, the moment of silence allows students the time to mediate “upon a moral, philosophical, or patriotic theme” (law.jrank.org). Some states, such as Montana and Kentucky, encourage prayer at the beginning of the school day. In Montana, it is legal for an administrator of the school to start the day with a prayer. Also, in Kentucky, the Lord’s Prayer can be recited to teach the country’s history, only if it is authorized by the local school district. The participation in both Montana and Kentucky are voluntary, though it’s encouraged for most students. Nineteen out of the fifty states do not have a policy with the moment of silence. That is only thirty-eight percent of the nation either not participating with the moment of silence or not having specific laws (law.jrank.org). Without religion present in public school, a moment of silence could not be observed; the principal could not allow time for personal reflection. Without religion, during a normal school day people would not be offended.
Christian beliefs are also evident in the public school core curriculum. It can be found amid the on-going debate over whether Biology classes should teach evolution or creationism. The main difference between evolution and creationism is the science versus religion. The general law states that “Evolution must only be taught as scientific fact. Creationism may not be taught as science under any circumstance (www.adl.org/religion). In 1998, a Minnesota science high school teacher, Rodney Le Vake, educated his students on the subject of creationism. Le Vake also “told a colleague that he had scientific doubts about Charles Darwin’s view” of evolution (Cline, Austin). This case sparked the idea of Le Vake wanting to teach his own students the idea of creationism. His argument was supported by the First Amendment, later dismissed by Minnesota appeals court, and then appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court ruled he should teach the curriculum of evolution without creationism. This ruling stands today because Biology teachers are only allowed to teach evolution, although the students are allowed to discuss creationism outside of the classroom setting (Cline, Austin). If religion was not present in public core curriculum, Supreme Court cases over Biology would not exist.
Christian beliefs are present in public school athletic activities, such as the organization of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. This organization supports “See you at the Pole” in which students meet at the school’s flag poles in the early morning to pray. There are certain regulations to this activity as stated on www.ed.gov. Although this activity is permitted, “school officials, acting in an official capacity, may neither discourage nor encourage participation in such an event.” This is a religious activity that is observed by all religions. Another athletic activity that is affected by religion is the presence of Christian beliefs at sporting events. In March of 1991, a lawsuit was filed by a Mormon and Roman Catholic family because Galveston’s Santa Fe Independent School District allowed students to pray before a football game over the PA system. This case was taken to the Supreme Court in 1995, and in 2000, the court concluded that including prayer during a state sponsored activity was unconstitutional. The school tried to support their prayer by stating that it was not mandatory to attend or participate in the invocation before the game. The Supreme Court denied this statement on the grounds that it might have personally offended students’ religious beliefs (religioustolerance.org). Without religion, there would not be Supreme Court cases over public prayer at football games or “See you at the Pole” gatherings. Religion is present in many aspects of the public school system including: a moment of silence, core curriculum, and athletic activities. It is clear that religion has an impact on students of the public education system no matter what their religion is. This impact can be positive or negative based on the personal beliefs of each student.

The War on Terrorism

The War on Terrorism comics by Joel Andreas were very interesting. I liked how he quoted the main participants of the War on Terrorism. It was also very intriguing that he mentioned other military situations that America has been involved in. Some situations I've never heard of such as the two CIA spies that bombed a civilian Cuban plane. This was a shocking piece of evidence, I never thought that the United States was involved in a civilian killing besides the War on Terrorism. This piece as a whole was very negative, and shed a bad light on American politics and military strategies.

Under the Sign of Mickey Mouse & Co.

The reading was really interesting, I have never thought of American culture spreading world-wide. It is funny to think that some countries look down upon the American culture actually advertise that famous Americans that have visited their country. It is also interesting that movie tickets like Terminator 2 sold out in other countries besides America. It is neat that cultures are also influenced by our sense of style like the backwards baseball cap. I have always known that if something is dubbed "popular" then it will eventually spread really fast, not only in America but in other countries too.

New York

In March of 2007 my dance team traveled to New York City! It was my second time traveling outside of Texas besides New Mexico.The team met at 5:00 am in the morning at the Austin Airport. Then at 7:00 am we left to New York! As soon as we arrived in New York City it started snowing at the JFK Airport. Once we settled into our hotel which was in the middle of Times Square, we took a subway to Grand Central Station. I love the whole experience of getting onto a subway and standing next to someone you don't know and having a short conversation.On the subway people started staring at us. I mean, I don't blame them, it was very obvious that we were tourist not only because our matching outfits (which were required) but our lack of knowledge. Once we arrived in Grand Central Station we were allowed to explore. It was amazing, all of the different shops and places to eat were unique in their own way. I actually bought a five dollar cup cake just because people said it was a part of the experience. After Grand Central Station, we all prepared for the Broadway show Wicked! That is easily the best Broadway I have ever seen in my life! All the costumes and sets were so detailed and the music numbers were perfect. After Wicked! we were allowed to spend the rest of the night on the town until 12:00 am! This is was the best experience of my life (so far). It was so amazing just to be in a new, fast pace environment. Hopefully sometime soon I will be able to travel to New York again.

Religion

I was raised not going to church every Sunday but often. When my family moved to Cedar Park we went to a Methodist Church. We loved everything about this church,but once I started middle school, my family became busy. My dad was always working on Sundays and I guess my mom didn't want to go without him. When my grandmother and grandfather would come for the weekend, my grandmother would always take me to a nearby Catholic Church. I always felt uncomfortable, because I was not Catholic and didn't share the same beliefs. I missed my church and wanted to return but I was always scared that they would be mad that I haven't been in a long time. I missed being close to God, I have always wanted to return to that church, but once again I am nervous that I won't be accepted. Hopefully I can have the courage to return soon.

Elmira

Elmira is a black and white picture of a woman in her late thirties or early forties. In this picture she is alone, with no other surroundings besides the open sky. She is wearing a bonnet that looks really rugged, her hair is wispy and in her face. Elmira's eyes are piercing, they look really sad. She is also wearing a terry cloth coat, I assume this picture was taken when it was cold. Her face is a little dirty as if she works outside. There are so many assumptions that can be made why Elmira looks so sad, but I believe it looks like she's lost a loved one.

Class Discussions

The discussions in class have had me thinking about the American Society today. Media rarely shows "normal" people on TV unless they've done something to harm the public. Rarely a "normal" person is shown helping people; such as donating money to a school or tutoring kids. Also, the media never recognizes teachers and all the good they do. The media would rather focus on the sex scandals with teachers and students. I believe this is giving our society a negative image to the younger, more influenced population. Teachers should be recognized through a positive view, helping kids reach their goals and ultimately succeeding. This is the society that I want to live in when I become a teacher. Somehow I have very little faith in that.

Paper 1

The Beauty in Dance
Beauty is not always displayed in a physical form; it can also be displayed in an emotional form. The emotional part of beauty is often very moving. Sometimes people can cry at the presentation of emotional beauty. Emotional beauty struck me while I watched the TV show So You Think You Can Dance. A contemporary routine choreographed by Mia Michaels. Her dance was not only physically beautiful, but emotionally moving as well. This routine made me cry. Not only because the beauty of the dance but the emotion behind the movements. There are many forms of beauty in dance: symbolism, passion and music/movement.
The routine choreographed by Mia Michaels was titled “Time,” and was performed to a song written by Billy Porter. Mia choreographed this routine for her late father. This dance is performed by Lacey Schwimmer and Neil Haskell. This dance is first and foremost very symbolic. Lacey and Neil symbolize Mia and her father reuniting for the first time. Both Lacey and Neil are dressed in white, symbolizing that they are both in Heaven. Also, the stage is covered in fake, bright colored flowers symbolizing the innocence Mia still experiences around her father. To dance this routine, a dancer has to be very passionate on the story they are portraying. The story behind the dance was told by Mia Michaels before the performance.
Lacey and Neil definitely have passion when they perform this routine. This routine would not be the same if the dancers did not have passion behind the movement. Lacey and Neil performed this piece with emotion. They surprised the audience with the beauty of the story. Without the passion in this particular routine, it simply wouldn’t have made the same impact. When I watched this routine, I can see the passion of Neil and Lacey not only through the facial expressions, but also through the movement. They are very technical when they dance meaning that their toes were pointed, and extensions were great. Mia Michaels has choreographed this routine to the point of perfection. Each movement is choreographed beautifully with the lyrics of the song.
Dancing would not be as beautiful if a choreographer didn’t pay attention to the lyrics of a song.Mia Michaels is a talented choreographer. She can choreograph a dance to fit perfectly with any song. In this routine, Lacey and Neil start on opposite sides of the stage and begin by waving to each other when it says “Where’s the time?” It symbolizes the first time they see each other in heaven. A sentimental part of the routine is when Billy Porter says, “Or snow that floats from the sky,” .Lacey throws Neil a flower that he bounces on his knees and elbows. This simple movement shows the playfulness of the routine, truly symbolizing a father goofing around with his daughter. A cute part of this routine is when Billy Porter sings, “We live, we learn, we love in time.” While Neil throws Lacey, then soon after that they jump and skip together. Then Lacey puts her arms around Neil’s neck, and they spin in a circle together. The best choreographed part of this routine is when Porter sings, “All we have is time,” and Neil kisses Lacey’s hand. Then they both look for a flower. Neil takes his time and picks the perfect one to give Lacey, while she picks up as many flowers as she can and drops them on his face.
Dancing has three forms of emotional beauty: symbolism, passion and music/movement. Mia Michaels created an emotionally beautiful routine that moves people. I will always have the same emotions every time I watch this routine. After watching this routine several times I realize the beauty and passion of the dance Lacey Schwimmer and Neil Haskell performed this routine with a great deal of emotion that truly shows the beauty of the dance. To summarize this routine, it must be summarized through a quote from Constanze, “Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!” This routine truly symbolizes the quote with emotional and physical beauty.

The Spirit of Education

The Spirit of Education by Norman Rockwell is a painting of a mother and son. She is wrapping a banner around him that says "The Spirit of Education", the young boy looks really upset. The boy is dressing in what looks like Olympian clothing, with a torch that symbolizes success. The mother is proud to be dressing her son and sending him to school to make him successful young man. The boy looks like every kid does when they learn that school is not all fun and games anymore. There is a point in a kids life when they realize that school actually includes work and I think that is why he is holding a book.

I'm from a school that started off really unfortunate but has become amazing! Partly because our parents are really involved at my old high school unlike the movie Stand and Deliver. I can't imagine our teams or academics suffering because there wasn't enough funding. If our teams or academics were suffering the parents of Leander High School would find a way to support and fund the activity. The parents there are involved in every sport especially in my dance team, the Blue Belles. Also, our director was similar to the teacher in, Stand and Deliver. She goes out of her way to make sure we are safe, and that we support each other. Every year Mrs. Anderson has a pictionary party for the leaders of the team at her house. The party brings the team closer and we have a blast! Without the teacher and parent support Leander would be pretty crappy.

Varisty Baseball

Baseball is my favorite sport. Entering high school I knew very little about baseball, I just knew the basics. So to my delight my freshman Health teacher asked me to be a statistician for the boys baseball team! He explained that it wasn't that big of deal and I really didn't have to know a lot about baseball because they were just freshman. Being the shy and chicken person that I am, I asked my friend Laura to help me. We ended up being STAT girls all throughout high school! It was the best experience I have ever had!! Not only was I with cute boys all the time but I was learning a lot about baseball! My senior year Laura and I were stating for the Varsity team. My last year I truly found myself, I let go of the boring girl that never went out after we won a game. This year I made sure that I always went out and made the best of every situation. This year also taught me to deal with disappointment, during my senior year that team hit a rough spot (really rough). With the boys not winning they became really angry and disappointed. Eventually we all got over it and decided to make the best out of losing, who cares if we only won three games! Being STAT girl really made me outgoing and gave me the best experience in high school!