Morality and Politics of Justice
Op-Ed Article
Affirmative Action: Is it time for a change?
“Once they arrive, affirmative action kids are generally left to sink or swim academically”, once stated by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Suskind. Whether you agree with him or not, this quote brings to mind the controversy over Affirmative Action.
Affirmative Action, simply put, is a policy that favors women, racial minorities, and people of low income. It does this to counteract discrimination in the workplace and higher education. Many people favor the policy, because it is intended to justly level the playing field for people that have been and often still are oppressed. Students that are recipients of Affirmative Action have reduced admission fees as well as lowered entrance standards. Affirmative Action, although it has benefits, it is not a perfect system.
The first problem is that Affirmative Action benefits minority students from affluent families more so than minority students from poor families (David Sacks, et al.). On top of this, Affirmative Action is detrimental to poor white and Asian student’s chance of being accepted into college (Sacks).
Affirmative Action is benefitting the affluent; therefore, it is benefitting the wrong people. This needs to change. Affirmative Action should benefit all students of low income families, or be eradicated. It is a huge injustice if Affirmative Action is making it easier for affluent minority students to get into college while poor minority or non minority students are not given assistance.
The second problem with Affirmative Action is that racial preferences can be viewed as looking down upon minorities. Judging a student’s academic ability based on race is ludicrous and no respectable person denies this. But if universities accept minority students at lower standards than white students they are insinuating that minority students are incapable of competing with their white counterparts on their own.
If you do not agree with my statement that Affirmative Action is degrading to minorities, think about this. How would you feel if your Chemistry teacher, for example, told you that she was going to curve all of your assignments up by a letter grade, to better your chance of success?
You may be questioning, how would minority students do in college without racial preferences; what affect does banning affirmative action have on students? Schools that have banned Affirmative Action have been shown to have more successful minority students. According to John H. McWhoter, “At UC San Diego before the ban on racial preferences out in California, exactly one out of 3,268 freshmen who were black, were making honors. After the ban, 20 percent of black students were making honors”. This evidence suggests that the absence of affirmative action has had a positive effect on minority students.
On the flipside, many Universities that have banned Affirmative Action have lost minority students. In California, before the state’s Affirmative Action ban, 14 percent of college students were Hispanic, while 42 percent of all college aged students were Hispanic. Since the ban, the percentage of Hispanic college students has dropped to 11 percent while the total percent of college age students that are Hispanic has grown to 49 percent (“How Minorities Have Fared”).
This evidence suggests that Affirmative Action should not be banned. However, it may do a better job of serving its purpose if it does not include academic preferences.
Academic preferences have been shown to put students at the back of their class. This may be related to how Affirmative Action gives its recipients lower entrance standards. According to Gail Heriot; “African-American and Hispanic students with a straight B, 3.0, average were treated the same as Asian and white students with a straight A, 4.0, grade point average, all other things being equal.” (Bussell 8-9). Heriot ties to this that racial preferences may be the related to the fact that Black and Latino students are opting out of majors at a much higher rate than Whites and Asians (Bussell 8). These are grounds that it may be time to get rid of preferences.
Another controversial part of Affirmative Action is whether it is for or against constitutional rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “All are equal before the law”. One could argue, Affirmative action does not obey this statute because it discriminates based on race. The other side of this argument is that Affirmative Action is morally right because it is making up for past discrimination.
Affirmative Action’s purpose is to make up for past oppression, but does it do this? Thomas Sowell once said, "However much history may be invoked in support of these policies (affirmative action), no policy can apply to history but can only apply to the present or the future.” The argument against this is that oppression still does exist. However, there are now many affluent families of racial minorities, offering preferences directed toward wealthy minorities are impractical. Not only that, but it is a huge injustice to the poor. There are poor and rich people among every race, Affirmative Action will do a better job if it is based solely on income. But the removal of preferences should also be applied to the children of alumni and donors.
America needs to find a new system of Affirmative Action. Its intent was to help underprivileged students get to college that have suffered from oppression. But the policy needs to be adjusted for modern times. It will be much more suited for the present day if it is based on socioeconomic class; it should give financial aid to the poor, but academic preferences to no one.
“Once they arrive, affirmative action kids are generally left to sink or swim academically”, once stated by the Pulitzer Prize winning author Ron Suskind. Whether you agree with him or not, this quote brings to mind the controversy over Affirmative Action.
Affirmative Action, simply put, is a policy that favors women, racial minorities, and people of low income. It does this to counteract discrimination in the workplace and higher education. Many people favor the policy, because it is intended to justly level the playing field for people that have been and often still are oppressed. Students that are recipients of Affirmative Action have reduced admission fees as well as lowered entrance standards. Affirmative Action, although it has benefits, it is not a perfect system.
The first problem is that Affirmative Action benefits minority students from affluent families more so than minority students from poor families (David Sacks, et al.). On top of this, Affirmative Action is detrimental to poor white and Asian student’s chance of being accepted into college (Sacks).
Affirmative Action is benefitting the affluent; therefore, it is benefitting the wrong people. This needs to change. Affirmative Action should benefit all students of low income families, or be eradicated. It is a huge injustice if Affirmative Action is making it easier for affluent minority students to get into college while poor minority or non minority students are not given assistance.
The second problem with Affirmative Action is that racial preferences can be viewed as looking down upon minorities. Judging a student’s academic ability based on race is ludicrous and no respectable person denies this. But if universities accept minority students at lower standards than white students they are insinuating that minority students are incapable of competing with their white counterparts on their own.
If you do not agree with my statement that Affirmative Action is degrading to minorities, think about this. How would you feel if your Chemistry teacher, for example, told you that she was going to curve all of your assignments up by a letter grade, to better your chance of success?
You may be questioning, how would minority students do in college without racial preferences; what affect does banning affirmative action have on students? Schools that have banned Affirmative Action have been shown to have more successful minority students. According to John H. McWhoter, “At UC San Diego before the ban on racial preferences out in California, exactly one out of 3,268 freshmen who were black, were making honors. After the ban, 20 percent of black students were making honors”. This evidence suggests that the absence of affirmative action has had a positive effect on minority students.
On the flipside, many Universities that have banned Affirmative Action have lost minority students. In California, before the state’s Affirmative Action ban, 14 percent of college students were Hispanic, while 42 percent of all college aged students were Hispanic. Since the ban, the percentage of Hispanic college students has dropped to 11 percent while the total percent of college age students that are Hispanic has grown to 49 percent (“How Minorities Have Fared”).
This evidence suggests that Affirmative Action should not be banned. However, it may do a better job of serving its purpose if it does not include academic preferences.
Academic preferences have been shown to put students at the back of their class. This may be related to how Affirmative Action gives its recipients lower entrance standards. According to Gail Heriot; “African-American and Hispanic students with a straight B, 3.0, average were treated the same as Asian and white students with a straight A, 4.0, grade point average, all other things being equal.” (Bussell 8-9). Heriot ties to this that racial preferences may be the related to the fact that Black and Latino students are opting out of majors at a much higher rate than Whites and Asians (Bussell 8). These are grounds that it may be time to get rid of preferences.
Another controversial part of Affirmative Action is whether it is for or against constitutional rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states that “All are equal before the law”. One could argue, Affirmative action does not obey this statute because it discriminates based on race. The other side of this argument is that Affirmative Action is morally right because it is making up for past discrimination.
Affirmative Action’s purpose is to make up for past oppression, but does it do this? Thomas Sowell once said, "However much history may be invoked in support of these policies (affirmative action), no policy can apply to history but can only apply to the present or the future.” The argument against this is that oppression still does exist. However, there are now many affluent families of racial minorities, offering preferences directed toward wealthy minorities are impractical. Not only that, but it is a huge injustice to the poor. There are poor and rich people among every race, Affirmative Action will do a better job if it is based solely on income. But the removal of preferences should also be applied to the children of alumni and donors.
America needs to find a new system of Affirmative Action. Its intent was to help underprivileged students get to college that have suffered from oppression. But the policy needs to be adjusted for modern times. It will be much more suited for the present day if it is based on socioeconomic class; it should give financial aid to the poor, but academic preferences to no one.
Artist Statement
The issue I am trying to portray in my visual piece is Affirmative Action. I believe that all people who in poverty should be given financial help to get into college. Affirmative Action unfortunately, currently benefits wealthy minority students more so than anyone else. I think that this should change so that Affirmative Action only benefits people of low socioeconomic class.
I used the quote by Sonia Sotomayor to explain my reasoning. I think that it is imperative to help the underclass achieve academic success, because if the affluent were not so fortunate they could be in the same financial situation.
The rhetoric I intended to use was ethos, using a quote by the renowned Supreme Court judge Sonia Sotomayor. The second part of rhetoric I intended to use was Logos, by stating the fact that the poor are in desperate need of financial help.
The tone of my poster was intended to be attractive through clear visual simplicity. I wanted to give the quote I had chosen power by splitting it into two pieces and having each line increase in font size.
I used the quote by Sonia Sotomayor to explain my reasoning. I think that it is imperative to help the underclass achieve academic success, because if the affluent were not so fortunate they could be in the same financial situation.
The rhetoric I intended to use was ethos, using a quote by the renowned Supreme Court judge Sonia Sotomayor. The second part of rhetoric I intended to use was Logos, by stating the fact that the poor are in desperate need of financial help.
The tone of my poster was intended to be attractive through clear visual simplicity. I wanted to give the quote I had chosen power by splitting it into two pieces and having each line increase in font size.
affirmativeactionartiststatement.docx | |
File Size: | 10 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Reflection
The unit of “The Morality of Politics and Justice” introduced me into new ways of thinking about what is right and wrong. We started this unit with Reading The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail we then had a Socratic seminar dedicated to the book. I had never before understood the concept of civil disobedience in the way that reading and reflecting on this book had taught it to me.
The next book we read in class was Michael J. Sandel’s Justice. In this book I learned about the philosophies of Deontology, Libertarianism, Utilitarianism, and Equality/Justice. Deontology was founded by Immanuel Kant, and it is founded on the ideas of universalizing your maxim and treating others as ends, not as means to an end. Libertarianism is founded upon the idea that the only actions that can be judged as immoral are actions that directly hurt others; it is not immoral to cause harm to one’s self. Utilitarianism is founded upon the ideology of cost benefit analysis; the right decision is the one that has the overall most positive effect on society. Equality and Justice is founded upon the principle that to make morally correct decisions, you must take into consideration all of society; It is contrary to Utilitarianism because it is founded upon the idea that every individual is valuable. One metaphor that followers of Equality and Justice use is the veil of ignorance, pretending you do not know who you are and that you could turn out to be anyone in society. This book is very challenging to one’s moral basis; it weighs each of the philosophies without bias and creates significant arguments for each.
During the time of reading these two books the class was challenged to reflect upon different moral dilemmas, such as the “Trolley Car Dilemma” and “The Heinz Dilemma”. We were asked to give our opinions on what the morally correct decision would be. Many students’ opinions changed from before our readings and after. This has helped me to look at real life situations with better critical analysis of what is right and wrong.
After studying moral philosophy, we began to study the three elements of rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is the practice of luring an audience to your side of an argument with credibility; Pathos is based upon challenging your audience with emotion; logos is based upon logic and statistics. Then we studied logical fallacies, such as The Euphemism; improper use of jargon; inflated language among others. This study was intended to teach us how to make a valuable argument when writing, without misleading our audience.
After studying Rhetoric, we started on our projects. I chose the topic of whether or not it is time to end affirmative action. This project challenged my morals and had me look at the issue from perspectives on the issue I had not really taken into consideration before the project. I looked at perspectives from a couple of intelligence squared debates, both of which had very valuable arguments on either side of the issue. I still have not truly decided my stance on the issue; however I still needed to take a stance for my op-ed. I wrote in my op-ed that Affirmative Action should not be eradicated, but it should be adjusted. I found that Affirmative Action benefits wealthy minority students more so than poor minority students, and decided that that was a huge injustice. My solution to the problem was that Affirmative Action should be based on socioeconomic class instead of race. I also decided that academic preferences should be eliminated because it tends to cause students to drop out of college. Along with my op-ed, I made a visual piece to support my thesis.
I think the strong point of my project was how I incorporated elements of rhetoric, especially my use of logos. This is because the sources I have cited are valid and apply to my article. I think the weak point of my project as a whole is my visual piece. This is because it is not very intriguing and contains little emotion.
If I was given one more week on my project I would have put the majority of the time into making a more powerful visual piece. This is definitely the weak point of my project and I wanted to apply more time to it. However I spent the vast majority of my project time writing my op-ed because it was a higher priority for me to write a strong article.
Overall, this project has helped me grow as a person. It has helped me to see many perspectives as valid and has eliminated a lot of bias I used to have. Also it has pushed me to the limits of my working capacity and has taught me to be more hard working.
The next book we read in class was Michael J. Sandel’s Justice. In this book I learned about the philosophies of Deontology, Libertarianism, Utilitarianism, and Equality/Justice. Deontology was founded by Immanuel Kant, and it is founded on the ideas of universalizing your maxim and treating others as ends, not as means to an end. Libertarianism is founded upon the idea that the only actions that can be judged as immoral are actions that directly hurt others; it is not immoral to cause harm to one’s self. Utilitarianism is founded upon the ideology of cost benefit analysis; the right decision is the one that has the overall most positive effect on society. Equality and Justice is founded upon the principle that to make morally correct decisions, you must take into consideration all of society; It is contrary to Utilitarianism because it is founded upon the idea that every individual is valuable. One metaphor that followers of Equality and Justice use is the veil of ignorance, pretending you do not know who you are and that you could turn out to be anyone in society. This book is very challenging to one’s moral basis; it weighs each of the philosophies without bias and creates significant arguments for each.
During the time of reading these two books the class was challenged to reflect upon different moral dilemmas, such as the “Trolley Car Dilemma” and “The Heinz Dilemma”. We were asked to give our opinions on what the morally correct decision would be. Many students’ opinions changed from before our readings and after. This has helped me to look at real life situations with better critical analysis of what is right and wrong.
After studying moral philosophy, we began to study the three elements of rhetoric: ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is the practice of luring an audience to your side of an argument with credibility; Pathos is based upon challenging your audience with emotion; logos is based upon logic and statistics. Then we studied logical fallacies, such as The Euphemism; improper use of jargon; inflated language among others. This study was intended to teach us how to make a valuable argument when writing, without misleading our audience.
After studying Rhetoric, we started on our projects. I chose the topic of whether or not it is time to end affirmative action. This project challenged my morals and had me look at the issue from perspectives on the issue I had not really taken into consideration before the project. I looked at perspectives from a couple of intelligence squared debates, both of which had very valuable arguments on either side of the issue. I still have not truly decided my stance on the issue; however I still needed to take a stance for my op-ed. I wrote in my op-ed that Affirmative Action should not be eradicated, but it should be adjusted. I found that Affirmative Action benefits wealthy minority students more so than poor minority students, and decided that that was a huge injustice. My solution to the problem was that Affirmative Action should be based on socioeconomic class instead of race. I also decided that academic preferences should be eliminated because it tends to cause students to drop out of college. Along with my op-ed, I made a visual piece to support my thesis.
I think the strong point of my project was how I incorporated elements of rhetoric, especially my use of logos. This is because the sources I have cited are valid and apply to my article. I think the weak point of my project as a whole is my visual piece. This is because it is not very intriguing and contains little emotion.
If I was given one more week on my project I would have put the majority of the time into making a more powerful visual piece. This is definitely the weak point of my project and I wanted to apply more time to it. However I spent the vast majority of my project time writing my op-ed because it was a higher priority for me to write a strong article.
Overall, this project has helped me grow as a person. It has helped me to see many perspectives as valid and has eliminated a lot of bias I used to have. Also it has pushed me to the limits of my working capacity and has taught me to be more hard working.
Native American Historical Inquiry
Journal
Journal #2: Film response
The movie Reel Injun is about the history of oppression and stereotypes of Native Americans. The stereotype of Native Americans has evolved through savagery, spirituality, among other things. At some points in history being Native American is considered cool as well.
I am honestly embarrassed by the behavior of the United States. The way Native American’s have been portrayed in movies has at times been incredibly cruel, the violent acts of characters like John Wayne being portrayed as acts of heroism is horrible.
I hope that children’s cartoons no longer contain the prejudice that bugs bunny and Popeye had. I honestly was shocked that a TV show made for children had such hatred involved in it.
The hippie imitation of Native American society was hilarious and ridiculous. But a positive in the same era was when Marlon Brando denied his Oscar.
Journal #4: Analysis
Throughout the stories we have read from Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Alexie explains the reality of his life as a modern Native American. In “Indian Education” Alexie writes, “There is more than one way to starve”
Journal #5: Reflection
Sherman Alexie’s book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven and “First Person First Peoples” share similarities in theme. Both stories contain characters that must have resilience to succeed. In “Indian Education” Sherman writes about the poverty he had to grow up in, how his father was a drunk who left his family, and the constant bullying at school directed towards him. In Marianne Chamberlain’s story of her time at Dartmouth, she must deal with a different type of bullying and more importantly a stalker. Marianne and Sherman are characters in the midst of difficult situations, but giving up on their educations would not have made their lives any better.
In “First Person, First Peoples” we see that even today many people are still very racist and that women are still preyed upon. During her first year at Dartmouth, Marianne is stalked and assaulted by a man. She also deals with colossal ignorance and hatred, she wrote “Then one day the student supervisor on duty approached me and asked if the rumor he had heard about me was true. ‘They say that you are an Indian… well; then, I better go and hide al the liquor. We don’t want it to disappear or find you drinking on the job…’” (First Persons pg. 158). She also says that one day she arrived at her dorm room after classes and found ‘Indian Bitch’ written on the wall. The way Marianne was treated would have been enough to make most quit their college lives, but if Marianne had given up on her education she would have been letting fear rule her life. Continuing to pursue her education is the most difficult but best choice she could have made.
In “Indian Education” Sherman Alexie is resilient to a different type of prejudice. Alexie goes through school often being severely bullied by other boys on his reservation. His family is extremely poor and his father is drunk nearly every day, and eventually leaves the family. But this does not stop Alexie from becoming an amazing basketball player in high school, earning valedictorian, or from graduating from college. Although it is not nearly fair what he had to go through, had Alexie not worked hard through his teen and college years, he would have suffered his whole life in poverty. Resilience means to not give up; it can be one of the hardest traits to attain. But through Alexie’s life, we see that it is worth it.
Resilience is the common themes between the stories of Sherman Alexie and Marianne Chamberlain. Both characters had this trait, and without it neither of them would have stories to be published. Giving up never helps anyone, no matter how hard or unfair or even dangerous continuing to follow one’s dreams may be you must never give up if you want to succeed.
The movie Reel Injun is about the history of oppression and stereotypes of Native Americans. The stereotype of Native Americans has evolved through savagery, spirituality, among other things. At some points in history being Native American is considered cool as well.
I am honestly embarrassed by the behavior of the United States. The way Native American’s have been portrayed in movies has at times been incredibly cruel, the violent acts of characters like John Wayne being portrayed as acts of heroism is horrible.
I hope that children’s cartoons no longer contain the prejudice that bugs bunny and Popeye had. I honestly was shocked that a TV show made for children had such hatred involved in it.
The hippie imitation of Native American society was hilarious and ridiculous. But a positive in the same era was when Marlon Brando denied his Oscar.
Journal #4: Analysis
Throughout the stories we have read from Sherman Alexie’s The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven Alexie explains the reality of his life as a modern Native American. In “Indian Education” Alexie writes, “There is more than one way to starve”
Journal #5: Reflection
Sherman Alexie’s book, The Lone Ranger and Tonto fistfight in Heaven and “First Person First Peoples” share similarities in theme. Both stories contain characters that must have resilience to succeed. In “Indian Education” Sherman writes about the poverty he had to grow up in, how his father was a drunk who left his family, and the constant bullying at school directed towards him. In Marianne Chamberlain’s story of her time at Dartmouth, she must deal with a different type of bullying and more importantly a stalker. Marianne and Sherman are characters in the midst of difficult situations, but giving up on their educations would not have made their lives any better.
In “First Person, First Peoples” we see that even today many people are still very racist and that women are still preyed upon. During her first year at Dartmouth, Marianne is stalked and assaulted by a man. She also deals with colossal ignorance and hatred, she wrote “Then one day the student supervisor on duty approached me and asked if the rumor he had heard about me was true. ‘They say that you are an Indian… well; then, I better go and hide al the liquor. We don’t want it to disappear or find you drinking on the job…’” (First Persons pg. 158). She also says that one day she arrived at her dorm room after classes and found ‘Indian Bitch’ written on the wall. The way Marianne was treated would have been enough to make most quit their college lives, but if Marianne had given up on her education she would have been letting fear rule her life. Continuing to pursue her education is the most difficult but best choice she could have made.
In “Indian Education” Sherman Alexie is resilient to a different type of prejudice. Alexie goes through school often being severely bullied by other boys on his reservation. His family is extremely poor and his father is drunk nearly every day, and eventually leaves the family. But this does not stop Alexie from becoming an amazing basketball player in high school, earning valedictorian, or from graduating from college. Although it is not nearly fair what he had to go through, had Alexie not worked hard through his teen and college years, he would have suffered his whole life in poverty. Resilience means to not give up; it can be one of the hardest traits to attain. But through Alexie’s life, we see that it is worth it.
Resilience is the common themes between the stories of Sherman Alexie and Marianne Chamberlain. Both characters had this trait, and without it neither of them would have stories to be published. Giving up never helps anyone, no matter how hard or unfair or even dangerous continuing to follow one’s dreams may be you must never give up if you want to succeed.
Reflection
During the unit of Native American Historical Inquiry I had the chance to learn about the conquest of the Americas from a new point of view. I learned about how the government has mistreated Native Americans in the past, and how this affects the lives of Native Americans today. The class was required to read chapters of A Peoples’ History of the United States, which explained the crimes of Christopher Columbus that most do not learn as a child, as well as the Indian Removal lead, by Andrew Jackson.
The most important lesson I learned from this unit is that victors write history books, and are unlikely to make honest mentions of their past wrongdoings. It was challenging for me to think that I have been unaware of much of the United State’s history for my entire life. My frame of reference was challenged when I had learned that the Spanish Conquistadors had obliterated an entire people on the island of Hispaniola.
After the readings we had a Socratic seminar as a class. A classmate stated at one point that she felt guilty that she was reaping the benefits of her European ancestors’ crimes. When this was said I thought of a passage from Zinn that showed how only two percent of Spaniards controlled and owned almost all of the country’s land in its entirety. This disparity was similar throughout Europe. I quoted the passage and explained that if she felt guilty for her ancestors’ crimes she should keep in mind the fact that most of her european ancestors were most likely peasants and were maligned by their kingdoms and treated almost like slaves. I found it enlightening when we discussed how poverty really affects one’s life, a child who grows up in poverty will have a much harder life than a child who grows up in a functional middle class family.
The essential question we were instructed to answer individually was; “How can an examination of multiple sources and perspectives lead to a more enlightened understanding of history and contemporary social, cultural and political realities?” An examination of multiple sources leads to a more enlightened understanding of the world because viewing an issue from one perspective will likely be lacking much of the truth of the issue. The more perspectives we analyze the more closer we are to learning the whole truth of an issue. This will also help us to have a more enlightened view of current reality because the past is everything that makes today. The better we can understand our past, the clearer we will be able to see the present.
Second Semester Honors Book Club
Fahrenheit 451
Poem
Literary Analysis
Seminar Prep
Cat's Cradle
Seminar Prep
Half the Sky
Reaction, Questions, and Project Proposal
Literary Analysis
Honors Projcect Reflection
In my humanities honors class we had three books to read independently. These three were Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut, and Half the Sky by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn. For all books we prepared for and had a Socratic seminar. We were required to complete a literary analysis of our first book, Fahrenheit 451 for which I chose to write a poem, my first. We then had the option to do a different project on either Half the Sky or Cat’s Cradle, I chose Half the Sky and to write a literary analysis on it.
Of the three books we read, I feel that Fahrenheit 451 and Half the Sky both had profound impacts on my understanding of the world. From Fahrenheit 451 I have learned the importance of questioning societal norms and the importance of understanding perspectives that make us uncomfortable. From Half the Sky I have become aware of the necessity to help others and have been inspired to take action in my own life; since reading the book I have looked at Peace Corps opportunities (although I am not currently qualified to work in the peace corps I will definitely consider it in the future).
In second semester honors book club I was challenged by the workload and the mental engagement that was required from me. This book club required me to step up my academic rigor because of the increased workload in addition to my other classes. I was often rewarded by my own perseverance and through this gained a longer attention span, better writing skills, and the ability to push myself harder. I pushed myself in writing a poem for Fahrenheit 451, as I had never written a poem before or used the artistic part of my brain in such a way. However, I did make a few mistakes. Towards the end of the semester I admittedly lost motivation to a degree although I could make excuses, did at times procrastinate and struggled to finish the semester.
Of the three books we read, I feel that Fahrenheit 451 and Half the Sky both had profound impacts on my understanding of the world. From Fahrenheit 451 I have learned the importance of questioning societal norms and the importance of understanding perspectives that make us uncomfortable. From Half the Sky I have become aware of the necessity to help others and have been inspired to take action in my own life; since reading the book I have looked at Peace Corps opportunities (although I am not currently qualified to work in the peace corps I will definitely consider it in the future).
In second semester honors book club I was challenged by the workload and the mental engagement that was required from me. This book club required me to step up my academic rigor because of the increased workload in addition to my other classes. I was often rewarded by my own perseverance and through this gained a longer attention span, better writing skills, and the ability to push myself harder. I pushed myself in writing a poem for Fahrenheit 451, as I had never written a poem before or used the artistic part of my brain in such a way. However, I did make a few mistakes. Towards the end of the semester I admittedly lost motivation to a degree although I could make excuses, did at times procrastinate and struggled to finish the semester.
Happiness and Meaning Project |
Philosophy Statement: Make the most out of
every day, don’t waste any of your life on emptiness. Be honest, don’t let your
mistakes and bad habits consume you; learn from them and move on. Commit your
life to helping others and believe that you can make a difference
Energy and Place
Essential Questions
1. How does energy production and consumption impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption?
1. How does energy production and consumption impact place?
2. How does your sense of place, environmental ethic and understanding of our energy needs influence your perception and decisions relating to energy production and consumption?
Essay
Take Action Project
Take Action Project Reflection
For my take action project I volunteered at a local farming community. I planned on volunteering here before I knew about this project but when I made the connection that I saw a great opportunity to inform the public on local farming. Through interviewing a local farmer and a teacher who made the volunteering experience possible I hoped to discover, for myself and for others, the value in locally grown, non-corporate food. Volunteering at this farm and gardening was a great experience and I hope to be able to do similar work in the near future.
My answer to the essential question; “How do your sense of pace, your environmental ethic, and your understanding of our energy needs influence your perception of human’s use of Earth’s resources and your own lifestyle decisions?” is first through demonstration of the value in community. I have been influenced by this project from the realization that local farming has no negative effect on the lives of others because it is work completed by non-industrial community recognized individuals whose interests are in farming well, rather than making billions of dollars. Local farming is also better for the wellbeing of the environment because it saves the oil that would be used to transport food hundreds of miles on a semi-truck and on the machines used to run an industrial farm. As far as my own lifestyle, I am inspired by taking care in the groceries that I purchase as an adult by focusing a larger percent of my income on food than the average population on food.
I have personally taken away more of an appreciation of agriculture through this project. I never realized that there are polarized politics within the food industry or the importance of local farms and its benefits as opposed to corporate farms. This project has been another step for me in expanding my knowledge of the world and has become another thought in my mind as I decide what kind of work I would like to spend a career in.
My answer to the essential question; “How do your sense of pace, your environmental ethic, and your understanding of our energy needs influence your perception of human’s use of Earth’s resources and your own lifestyle decisions?” is first through demonstration of the value in community. I have been influenced by this project from the realization that local farming has no negative effect on the lives of others because it is work completed by non-industrial community recognized individuals whose interests are in farming well, rather than making billions of dollars. Local farming is also better for the wellbeing of the environment because it saves the oil that would be used to transport food hundreds of miles on a semi-truck and on the machines used to run an industrial farm. As far as my own lifestyle, I am inspired by taking care in the groceries that I purchase as an adult by focusing a larger percent of my income on food than the average population on food.
I have personally taken away more of an appreciation of agriculture through this project. I never realized that there are polarized politics within the food industry or the importance of local farms and its benefits as opposed to corporate farms. This project has been another step for me in expanding my knowledge of the world and has become another thought in my mind as I decide what kind of work I would like to spend a career in.
Energy and Place Project Reflection
To start the unit of energy and place, we studied in class examples of environmental ethics and compared and contrasted these ethics and debated among the pros and cons of each environmental ethic. These environmental ethics included preservationism, conservationism, intrinsic value of nature, and environmental justice among others. After returning from our LINK internships we were required to write nature journals too reacquaint ourselves with the unit and further explored environmental ethics such as innovation. We also explored the morals in such energy sources as oil and nuclear power. We wrapped up studying environmental ethics with readings by Edward Abbey. Finally we began drafting our own writings to argue our personal environmental ethics, and finished the unit presenting this at an Exhibition.
The sense of place I portray in my essay is environmental justice. To articulate this I spent much time expressing the value of all places, and the emotional attachments that all humans have to their homes. I wrote my essay with the idea in mind that everywhere has something beautiful to offer, whether it can be seen at first sight or not, and also that the wealthy should not protect their land from development by pushing projects into poorer communities. I also portray my own sense of place, which is the entire earth.
What I am most proud of in my essay is my creativity. I think that I wrote my essay in a creative style beginning with my metaphor, comparing a person’s relationship to his/her home to a metaphor. I think that my writing conveys emotion to the reader. In my second paragraph I write “Do not forget reader that wherever you stand right now was someone’s childhood, where someone made a life changing decision or where someone fell in love. When we have no connection to a particular area it is more likely will begin to view the land as a potential source of profit rather than a home.” I think I give readers food for thought that could potentially affect their future decisions on whether or not living in a stereotypical “beautiful” town is even important. This I found an important point to make because so often people choose
The sense of place I portray in my essay is environmental justice. To articulate this I spent much time expressing the value of all places, and the emotional attachments that all humans have to their homes. I wrote my essay with the idea in mind that everywhere has something beautiful to offer, whether it can be seen at first sight or not, and also that the wealthy should not protect their land from development by pushing projects into poorer communities. I also portray my own sense of place, which is the entire earth.
What I am most proud of in my essay is my creativity. I think that I wrote my essay in a creative style beginning with my metaphor, comparing a person’s relationship to his/her home to a metaphor. I think that my writing conveys emotion to the reader. In my second paragraph I write “Do not forget reader that wherever you stand right now was someone’s childhood, where someone made a life changing decision or where someone fell in love. When we have no connection to a particular area it is more likely will begin to view the land as a potential source of profit rather than a home.” I think I give readers food for thought that could potentially affect their future decisions on whether or not living in a stereotypical “beautiful” town is even important. This I found an important point to make because so often people choose