Immersion

What I'm most excited about regarding my immersion experience is that the work I do can be tedious but is mostly pretty interesting. We are preparing for a production in May so I get to help with a lot of the behind the scenes work during immersion. I am already making the chronology of all of Isaacs’ dances and that’s really important because she is basing her entire show off of it.

What I’m most concerned about is that putting a chronology together is really hard, especially when you’re going through old newspapers trying to find the dances and dates. The whole show depends on my work and I’m afraid to accidentally leave out a dance or put one in the wrong order because the chronology is going to be printed on the pamphlets, newspapers and even on her website. It’s a big responsibility that I was left in charge with and I want to do the best I can with my work.

How progressive was the Progressive Era in American history?

How they were progressive

Child Labor Regulations - One of the most persistent causes of Progressive Era reformers was child labor reform. 
While the reformers had an ally in President Theodore Roosevelt, politicians with ties to industry voted against any long-term solutions to problems such as child labor. In February 1941 the Supreme Court overruled the 1918 decision against the Keating-Owen Act. As a result, businesses that shipped goods out of state had to abide by the ruling that children could only work outside of school hours and that children under eighteen were unable to work in jobs that were hazardous to their health. 


Growth in Technology - Technology changed the home environment, the workplace, and the roles of men, women, and children. It also provided opportunities for leisure.

Transportation – Transportation was advanced such as railroads and Pullman Cars.

Accessibility to Information - There was an explosion of information. Newspapers and advertising grew, and new communication mediums such as radio and the telegraph developed.


How they were not progressive

Child Labor - The 1890 it was revealed that more than one million children, ten to fifteen years old, worked in America. That number increased to two million by 1910. Industries employed children as young as five or six to work as many as eighteen to twenty hours a day. 


Poor Working Rights - Men, women and children worked long hours in unsafe factories to meet the insatiable American appetite for cheap, mass-produced goods.

Farmers lose their Jobs - Rural farmers struggled to keep their farms in the face of increased competition, costly machinery, and falling prices.

So even though the Progressive Era had its pros and cons, I believe that even thought it was a mutual phase, it was a progressive era. It was necessary for both the positives and negatives to take place or else we would not be advanced as we are today.

Outstanding Blogs!

Examples of good Economic advice to Barack Obama are found in 

Ana Forsythe's Blog.

"An issue that resonates in my mind and in the minds of other Americans, is the struggle to hold a job and steering clear of unemployment. So many have already been affected by this and America knows it far too well, as it is embedded in one of the darkest periods of our country's history. The Great Depression brought hardships upon millions of Americans, sounding very similar to the hardships of today. "By 1932 the unemployment rate had soared past 20 percent. Thousands of banks and businesses had failed." Currently, with our unemployment rate at 7.6 percent, we cannot afford to let it rise any further and rise to the point of the 1930's. A piece of advice for you would be to focus on creating more jobs for Americans. The new jobs should be structured to build upon advances in technology. It sounds like this is already woven into your plan, so I think it should be implemented as soon as possible."

The reason I like this quote was because Ana did an amazing job condensing her writing. In that short paragraph, she included the issue, supporting evidence, its connections to a historical event, and state a plan to fix it. Right after she even included a graph to support her claims.

Examples of good Literary Analysis are found in 

Sydney Lampe's Blog.

"Through his detailed and descriptive writing, John Steinbeck uses imagery to show you what is going on in the book. In the first part of this story, "the gift," the setting of the story is displayed using description. "The cowpumkpins were green and small yet. He went on to the sagebrush line where the cold spring ran out of its pipe and fell into a round wooden tub. He leaned over and drank close to the green mossy wood where the water tasted best ( Page 6.)" In sentences like these, John Steinbeck provides words that appeal to the senses. Instead of saying vague sentences, such as, He drank the best water, John Steinbeck provides background knowledge of the area without using filler words."

The reason why I found this a good example of literary analysis was because Sydney was really  precise and to the point. When talking about Steinbeck's detailed and descriptive writing, she provided an example to support it. Not only that but she even gave an example of what it would the same sentence sound like if he wasn't descriptive or detailed. 

Examples of good Historical Writing are found in 

Esther Ballesteros' Blog.

"The depression of 1893 according to the book Nation of Nations was "the deepest the nation had yet experienced." A lot of companies and banks were failing at this time, this was a hard time for people all over for the companies, and the people who worked in those companies. When people saw that the economy was crashing they all panicked and they started taking out all of their money from the banks, which was one of the things that caused the bank failures. Something else that happened was that "A quarter of the nation's railroads went bankrupt." All of this was very bad for the economy "in total over 15,000 companies and 500 banks failed." The unemployment was very high in these times according to the Nation of Nations book " by August 1893 unemployment stood at 1 million; by the middle of 1894, it was at 3 million."

The reason why I found this a great example of historical writing is because Esther was able to relate everything she said back to the novel "Nation of Nations". She had a whole bunch of supporting facts straight from the book which made it nice to reference back to.   

Examples of what makes blogs great are found in 

Jacob Harris' Blog.

"while I was waiting, I noticed an interesting group of people. They were tourists from Germany, and it was fascinating trying to piece together what they were talking about, especially when they brought out beef jerky (which none of them have ever had before). Then I got home, went to Souplantation, and sat down to write this blog. I am now ending this blog, and will go on with my life until thursday, when my next blog will be due. Good Night."

The reason why I found that to be an example of what makes a blog great was because it was humorous. In his blog, Jacob is telling the story of his first day of internship. I really found it interesting because he was so detailed about the whole experience even when he was out of his internship site. He kept me captivated because his writing was so funny and entertaining. Keeping the reader's attention is what made the blog great. 

Our Scientific Responsibility

The responsibilities we have as people is to further our understanding of science throughout our lives. There are so many mysteries and questions on Earth that its our duty so solve as many of these life riddles for the next generations. Without knowledge comes ignorance, and ignorance hinders the progression we can make for science and the future.

The role that scientific inquiry and scientific knowledge plays in our society is that its brought us to the point we are today. The improvements in simple things, and the understanding of how big of an impact we have on the world. With our progression of understanding we are capable of improving our society.

Since we have a lot of power, we cannot abuse it. Science needs to have a bigger influence in our decisions, laws, and cultures because it determines our fate. An example of that would be animal extinction, or global warming. If we could include science with our choices we can save our planet.

Honors : A Thousand Splendid Suns

The theme in the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns” by Khaled Hosseini is the inner strength of a women even in the darkest of times, which he has shown through symbolism, metaphors / similes, and irony. Both Mariam and Laila endure so much heartache in their lives because they are women, yet they continue the strength to pull together and persevere. Mariam was born in a world which turns their back on women. She has a father who refuses to acknowledge her existence, a husband who abuses her for twenty-seven years, and the need to murder her husband when he attempted to kill Laila. Even though every situation, she remains to accept what fate hands her. Laila faces the loss of the boy she loves, the deaths of her parents and the marriage to Rasheed who abuses her for first producing a girl instead of a boy and then finding out it’s not his child. In the end, Laila faces the challenge of being a woman who returns to her home country with the intention of helping rebuild the country and honoring the memory of Mariam.

The biggest symbol in the story is the title “A Thousand Splendid Suns” where it refers to a poem in which the city of Kabul was described as having a thousand splendid suns, and also used as a symbol for Mariam. The reason for that is because after Mariam gave up her life for Laila to live out hers, Laila realizes that Mariam is still looking out for her and her family as she always has been. “Mariam is in Laila's own heart, where she shines with the bursting radiance of a thousand suns.” (page 366) The poem that the title is evolved from, is by the Persian Sufi poet Hafiz, in which he compares the mystical relationship with God to the power and brilliance of "A Thousand Splendid Suns" within you. One who has attained this mystical relationship cannot be harmed by evil for she/he is joined to Eternity. Another piece of symbolism is when Mariam remembers how Nana used to say that “each snowflake was a sigh heaved by an aggrieved woman somewhere in the world.” That all the sighs would drift into the skies and gather as clouds to soon break into tiny pieces that silently fell onto the people below. Mariam then thinks that it was meant “as a reminder of how women like us suffer, how quietly we endure all that falls upon us.” (page 82) Another symbol is “One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.” (page 172) Laila's father Babi, is the one reciting the lines from an old poem written in the seventeenth century. Laila may not have understood the significance of his words at the time. Seeing how Kabul would see such difficult times it's hard to imagine anyone talking about it in such a positive light. Then, considering the nature of the obstacles Mariam and Laila faced, one might suppose Laila may never forget the sad memories from her past. It comes as a surprise when Laila says Mariam's memory shines within her with the intensity of a thousand splendid suns. This gives a sense of completeness to Laila's story to be able to connect that line back to the ending when shes referencing Mariam.

Many metaphors and smilies were intertwined in the novel to compare the characters and situations as well. For example, when the movie Titanic became a huge hit, Laila and Mariam would always watch it, and thats where this quote came from; "Everyone wants Jack," Laila said to Mariam. "Everybody wants Jack to rescue them from disaster. But there is no Jack. Jack is not coming back. Jack is dead." (page 270) Such is a metaphor for life under the Taliban which was dangerous and a scary place. Or what Nana said to Mariam when she was a child that “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman.” (page 7) That quote can be seen repeated all throughout the novel because of women segregation, and how they could always be found in blame no matter what the situation. Another example of a similie is “She would never leave her mark on Mammy’s heart the way her brothers had, because Mammy’s heart was like a pallid beach where Laila’s footprints would forever wash away beneath the waves of sorrow that swelled and crashed, swelled and crashed.”(page 130) Laila's mother loved her two older sons more then her. Laila always felt the need to prove her importance to her mom, to show that her daughter can be just as good as her sons.

Another element that is important to note is irony – when something happens, or is seen, or is heard that we may know, but the characters do not, or that appears opposite of what is expected. Some examples of irony include: that in chapter 4, Jalil told Mariam about Queen Gauhar Shad who had raised the famous minarets in Herat in the 15th century. This is ironic that a queen would be so honored when men have such power over women in Afghanistan. Another example is that Mariam's father Jalil, asked Mariam at the end of his letter that if he were still alive, (page 277) if she could come to see him. He wanted to take her into his arms, and he would be waiting for her knock. Then, he, ironically, wished her a long and prosperous life. How could he have known that she would die at the hands of the Taliban? (page 329) A final example of Irony is “In a few years, this little girl will be a woman who will make small demands on her life, who will never burden others, who will never let on that she too has had sorrows, disappointments, dreams that have been ridiculed. A woman who will be like a rock in a riverbed, enduring without complaint, her grace not sullied but shaped by the turbulence that washed over her.” (page 355) The passage is talking about Mariam and all the sacrifice she will have to endure in the future, that she doesn't know is yet to come.

All the symbolism, the metaphors plus similes, and the irony bring the story together in a captivating, unforgettable manner. They bring out the theme of women struggles growing up and living in a country so against their beliefs. That women didn't deserve to be educated, seen, or heard, and the penalty of a minor crime was death. Laila and Mariam fought together for their happiness, rights, and freedom as people.

Economic Crisis Draft 2

Dear President Obama,


“Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages … Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”
That quote is taken out of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That declaration is a common standard of achievement for all people and nations. Article 26 even continues to say “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” The declaration is the first global expression of the natural rights humans are born with, an education being one of them.

So in the declaration, it is made clear that all humans have the civil liberties to learn, so that they can prosper and become the future of America, as it has been meant to be. But how can that be achieved if something so little as money can stand in the way? According to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, with the rising cost of tuition, even before the the recession, many Americans can't afford college. The college tuition fees have increased an enormous amount of 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while the median family income only raised 147 percent. College loans has more then doubled in the last 10 years, and students from lower class families usually get smaller grants from the colleges they attend then more prosperous families.
“If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” said Patrick M. Callan, president of the center, a nonpartisan organization that promotes access to higher education.


The beginnings of black education occurred during the Civil Rights Movements in Virginia. Where very few black Virginians would receive any education because of the segregation. Many couldn't afford schooling, but the ones who could were segregated because of their skin. Public schools separated the whites from the black children, to “reduce conflict”. Black children didn't mind it too much; they were happy enough to get an education at all, and they felt more comfortable without the white interactions to avoid being taunted with racial jokes. These schools however, “were at the mercy of the white-controlled state government for funding.” Many whites feared that an education would encourage the blacks to challenge white supremacy and not be content with their jobs of working in the fields. So the financial support for black schools were very low compared to the white schools, including “fewer books, worse buildings, and less well paid teachers.”

Besides the cost of tuition rising, the cost of health care is also reaching extraordinary heights. As the economy spirals downward, a series of recent reports state that the country's health-care crisis is about to get worse, especially for children. A study done at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center analyzed data on more than 15,000 children in Ohio. It resulted that kids who did not have continuous health insurance were “14 times less likely to have regular visits with a pediatrician than those who did”. They were also three times less likely to fill prescriptions for necessary medication. "These unmet medical needs directly put a child's health at risk," says Gerry Fairbrother, who is a researcher on health policy at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. In 2005, the average American family paid 30% more for health coverage than they did in 2001. While incomes rose only 3% in the same period, that's a $2,500 price increase each year. “Twenty-nine percent of people said they'd put off necessary care, 24% had delayed a medical test or treatment and 23% said a prescription had gone unfilled.” That is all because most families can't afford the expensive health care. Ways to fix this issue is socialize it, so that we pay more taxes for free health care for everyone. That way people wouldn't have to pay an expensive fee to see a doctor.

We're not the only generation to experience lack of health care for the poor, but in the pre-Civil war days, black communities in the South faced some serious sicknesses. Most of the diseases exposed within the slave community were because of the racially oppressive system of slavery. Because southern society considered slaves to be property, slaves often lived and labored in unhealthy environments. While conditions varied from one plantation to another, in many cases they were overworked, lacked proper nutrition, and had unsanitary living conditions contributed to a weaker immune system and the spread of disease. “The frequent presence of human excrement in the drinking water also led to epidemics of cholera, dysentery, diarrhea, typhoid, and hepatitis.” Sewage caused the reproduction of parasitic worms that could be found in the lungs, liver, blood vessels, gall bladder, and intestines. The oppressed slaves suffered from the lack of health care that they could not receive. The best doctors and medical care were given to the elites, while the slaves were given the rest.

In the 1900's children couldn't afford school because of who they were, todays generation can't afford school because of the rising costs. An education is unquestionably important for every person to have, because they are the ones who are going to take care of the world after we are gone. We can at least make it achievable for them to reach. Lowering the prices, or giving more money to lower income families for the purpose of an education sounds reasonable. Not only should our next generations of Americans should be educated, but healthy as well. They need the health care to be reasonable so that they won't be financially pressured. Safety and health shouldn't have a price, but if it does, it should at least be affordable. Education and health are both essential for the continuity of human existence.

This video shows the rising costs of college tuitions

Sources

"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Welcome to the UN. It's your world.. 13 Feb. 2009 .

LEWIN, TAMAR. "Higher Education May Soon Be Unaffordable for Most Americans, Report Says - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 3 Dec. 2008. 13 Feb. 2009 .

"Beginnings of Black Education - The Civil Rights Movement in Virginia - Virginia Historical Society." Virginia Historical Society - The Center for Virginia History. 9 Feb. 2009 .

"Carmichael Letters :: The Carmichaels and the Health Care of Slaves." Carmichael Letters :: "Patient's Voices in Early 19th Century Virginia". 11 Feb. 2009 .

"College Tuition Costs." YouTube. 29 Apr. 2008. 4 Feb. 2009 <"The Universal Declaration of Human Rights." Welcome to the UN. It's your world.. 13 Feb. 2009 .>.

College Economic Crisis

(The Rising Cost of College Tuition from 1982 to 2007)

Dear President Obama,


“Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and fundamental stages … Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit.”
That quote is taken out of Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That declaration is a
common standard of achievement for all people and nations. Article 26 even continues to say “Education shall be directed to the full development of the human personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.” The declaration is the first global expression of the natural rights humans are born with, an education being one of them.

So in the declaration, it is made clear that all humans have the civil liberties to learn, so that they can prosper and become the future of America, as it has been meant to be. But how can that be achieved if something so little as money can stand in the way? According to the biennial report from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, with the rising cost of tuition, even before the the recession, many Americans can't afford college. The college tuition fees have increased an enormous amount of 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while the median family income only raised 147 percent. College loans has more then doubled in the last 10 years, and students from lower class families usually get smaller grants from the colleges they attend then more prosperous families. 
“If we go on this way for another 25 years, we won’t have an affordable system of higher education,” said Patrick M. Callan, president of the center, a nonpartisan organization that promotes access to higher education.


The beginnings of black education occurred during the Civil Rights Movements in Virginia. Where very few black Virginians would receive any education because of the segregation. They couldn't afford school not because of their money, but because of their skin. Public schools separated the whites from the black children, to “reduce conflict”. Black children didn't mind it too much; they were happy enough to get an education at all, and they felt more comfortable without the white interactions to avoid being taunted with racial jokes. These schools however, “ were at the mercy of the white-controlled state government for funding.” Many whites feared that an education would encourage the blacks to challenge white supremacy and not be content with their jobs of working in the fields. So the financial support for black schools were very low compared to the white schools, including “fewer books, worse buildings, and less well paid teachers.”

In the 1900's children couldn't afford school because of who they were, todays generation can't afford school because of the rising costs. An education is unquestionably important for every person to have, because they are the ones who are going to take care of the world after we are gone. We can at least make it achievable for them to reach. Lowering the prices, or giving more money to lower income families for the purpose of an education sounds reasonable. It is essential for the continuity of human existence.

Sources

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
College May Become Unaffordable for Most in US-News Article

Beginnings of Black Education 

interview!



location : her office



time : 4:45



technology : IMovie on my mac

Design Principles by Diana & Jacob

Flexibility:

The ability to start with a big/broad question that can have a multitude of answers, then be able to pick questions based on the prior response. The interviewer should be able to work without a script and keep the interview fluid and not suddenly jump between subjects.

Example: HARWOOD: Does that mean you can do everything that you have been campaigning on and spend $700 billion on this bailout?
….
HARWOOD: And what about on the spending side?
….
HARWOOD: So no change in your health care plan?

From this example, we see that Harwood asks questions that have to do with Obama’s previous answer. He doesn’t go off a script and instead flows in the direction of the conversation.

Article

Background knowledge:

To be able to ask specific questions that you know the interviewee has an answer for in order to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. This also includes the ability to maintain the interviewee’s interest by keeping them in mind when writing the questions.

Example: HARWOOD: It looks as if there's the bipartisan will to move this through quickly in Congress, and if that happens then the government will have just taken on $700 billion of obligations that you haven't planned on throughout your two-year campaign for president. So how do you adjust your agenda in light of that, whether it's the scale of your plans for spending on health care, energy or other issues, whether it's on the advisability of raising taxes on capital gains and dividends, even staffing your administration? Would you ask Hank Paulson, for example, to stay on as Treasury secretary?

In this example, he states an event that might happen, then asks a question about it. He has obviously done some research on the subject in order to know about this, and it has helped him choose a good specific answer that the audience would like to know.

Article

Questions that can have a comprehensive answers:

Simple, specific questions that lead to long, specific and comprehensive answers, and broad questions that can lead to open ended, yet still comprehensive answers. This also includes the ability to keep the two different types of questions/answers balanced, in order to receive a wide range of answers in a good amount of time.

Example: HARWOOD: Last question. Given all that, as we head toward the first debate you're locked in a very close race, perhaps you're slightly ahead. But some people look at what's going on in the economy and other political circumstances and think you should be doing better. Some people say it's because you're aloof, some people say you're cerebral, John McCain says you're not ready to lead, some people think it may have something to do with your race. Why do you think, especially on the economy, you have not connected better than you have so far?

In this example, Harwood states a specific question so that he can get the information he needs.

Article