Government (ID)

 It is the media that creates an illusion in which the American citizens value and belief are affected or diverted from the real issue at hand. In the movie Wag the Dog,  which was seen in the government class, the president has a spin doctor whose main goal is to engineer a way and a means to divert the news of the President scandal into a news that will captivate the audience attention. War, which is fabricated by the spin doctor and his accomplice the producer, is the non- existent issue that will distract the public from the president’s crimes.



The media indeed shapes our reality, and TV has the unique ability to provide graphic supporting images that will make the audience believe everything the media is telling them. News reportage release new information that influences the way we think. In the movie Wag the Dog, there is a statement that says why does the dog wag its tail? Because a dog is smarter than its tail, if the tail were smarter, the tail would wag the dog. The dog symbolizes the mass media and the tail is the American citizens who are being wag by the dog. Manipulation is use to influence the way we (The American citizens)  perceive issue, as well as, handle them when the issues is being presented by the mass media.


It is amazing how this movie made me think about mass media and the power it has over the American Citizens. The movie enables me to fully listen and watch our for every detail that the media is presented to us. To look out for misconception or fabricated story.

Wall Street Mothers, Stay-Home Fathers (SSR)

Wall Street Mothers, Stay-Home Fathers is an article of New York Times that exposes how America is changing into a whole new different world where the roles of women and men are being questioned. People are so use to seeing the women being the ones at home taking care of the kids and the house. Which is the roles that society has implemented for women ever since the beginning of time and the men are the ones who bring in the money. Now America is taking a new approach that allows women to decide what they want to do and what can benefit the family as a whole. Men are accepting women's position and decision to freely achieve their dreams in today's world. This causes a shift in the roles that women and men are so use to taking; thus, enabling women and men to live in each others' shoes.


Marielle Jan de Beur is an example of a women who's providing for her family while her husband staying at home to do the domestic duties. She catches the train to go to Wall Street, then she goes to the company she works for which is Well Fargo. As she goes to work, she encounters many discrimination because many of the men, who composes the majority that work in Well Fargo, believes she is useless and see no purpose to why she is working. However; this has not prevented Marielle Jan de Beur from going to work. Her husband is given the chance to experience what women has to endure as a housewife and respects plus love being a domestic househusband. Marielle Jan de Beur is proud of her husband and loves the fact that she is able to provide for her family. Both women and men gain a greater appreciation to what each individuals does for the family. It's pretty cool to see husband doing the things that their wife would do at home.


Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Freebie Week

This is my freebie week for marking period (2).

Heart of Darkness (CRR)

The Heart of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad is a book that talks about imperialism in the point of view of the imperialist. This book is very hard to comprehended because there are a lot of vocabulary words and the narration shift to Marlow and then to the person who is listening to the story. However; this book is detailed making it possible for the reader to visualize the event. I'm able to depict an image of the setting and the surrounding of the place where is Marlow is at because he describes every thing to its perfection. The imagery that the book gives to the reader allows the reader to understand and create emotions based on the description that Marlow gives us.

There are a few questions that I have about this book such as if Marlow has converted to Buddha because of his journey. Does Buddhism create a scenery of peace which makes him forget about the horrific event he experienced throughout his journey? As of know,  I'm still confused about what's going on in the book. To be honest this book can be hard to follow, but I sometimes I get little bits of information that tells me what is happening. Marlow mission is to find Mr. Kurtz and I wonder how he got lost and why is he so important?

Work Up a Sweat, and Bargain Better (SSR)

http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2013/11/10/business/10-APPLIEDSCIENCE.html
Michael Waraksa

 

Studies shows that exercising does not only guarantee you better health, but it also gives you a better deal. When you to begin to exercise, your body builds an adrenaline rush that gives you the ability to not get nervous. Now try talking on the phone while you're exercising, then try talking on the phone when you're not exercise. Both strategies produce different outcomes and that outcome is if you succeeding in bargaining or not. Exercising while on the phone allows you to bargain better when you're not exercising. Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted this experiment and one of their study's co-authors said “If you’re sweating, and your heart rate is up, it’s seen as a sign something is going wrong, that you’re too nervous, off-balance, flustered,” he said. “Whereas we’re showing that something could be very right.” The positive outcome is that you're able to make better deals over the phone which is amazing because you can get a raise or a discount. Moreover; you're able to make better business. The catch to this research is that you have to be confident when you're bargaining over the phone or else you won't have better luck.

Applied science is innovating to real world application and the results creates a relationship between physical and mental states. Stated in the article both of these terms are very confusing because emotions deals with physiological response and how a person experiences and labels it. Physical state deals with the health of your body and mental state is health of the mind. Balancing both of these states create overall well being. This article connects to Health with Ms. Pacheco because we review these terms in class and you can see it plays a role in applied science especially in the M.I.T research.   

Snickers (PB)

The taste of this beautiful candy that is filled with roasted peanuts, nougat, caramel and milk chocolate is the best chocolate candy ever made. Taking one bite from this candy is like a dream a come true. Sometimes it's hard to share this candy with everyone because it's so good. Snickers it's on the top of my wish list for Christmas and I hope to get a whole stack on that day. Not only is this candy tasty, but it also fills your stomach when your hungry. This is why the saying on the commercial is so true "You're not you when you're hungry" unless you have a Snickers bar. I don't know why the school don't distribute Snickers on Valentine's day or any other special holidays because this candy is the best of the best. Moreover; I see the school handing out candy grams that contains candies that can break your teeth instead of mini Snickers or even better - two original size Snickers bar. This is the reason why I don't buy candy gram for myself because if I'm not getting any Snickers, then there is no reason why I should buy it. I lover Snickers and I think it's the best chocolate candy in the world.

Government (ID)

Government is a class that teaches us the purpose of government and the responsibilities it has to its citizens. We do not just only learn through what the teacher has to say about government, but we also watch movies and videos that explain the role of government. One of the movies we watched was called Lord of The Flies which was about a group of kids lost in the island, and they made someone within their group as their leader to maintain stability. This movie shows how government takes place anywhere even if you don't want to recognize it. Moreover, it shows the importance of government whether corrupt or not corrupt in any type of situation. We also watched two documentaries which were called Passin' it On and Cointelpro that exposes how government wants to eliminate human rights group from the picture in the 1900s.


Not only do we talk about government playing a role in America, we also talk about injustices made in America. The topics we discuss are topics in the news such as the government shutdown which can relate to the mini debate we had in class which is the Do- Now we had to do in English. Another topic we addressed in class is the incident that occurred with  Barneys and Macy. The incident accused the two retail stores of racial discrimination. I was a bit upset about the incident in Macy because the owner of this retail corporation was someone I met in the Brag Scholarship event who's company will be facing a lawsuit. He seem to be a really nice guy and he won an award for being altruistic. If the accusation for the two companies are true, then the American people will be facing a racial discrimination dilemma.


Applying the role of government to this situation is possible because the government must protect all people and need to inform/ make a policy for retail company to not racially profile any individual. The government duties is to protect all citizens. Every situation that America face can be related to government which is why I like the government class and I feel like I'm learning something new everyday.

Brag Scholarship Event (FC)

This scholarship wasn't easy to get because I had to write an essay and get interview by two people. It was hard to write an essay about retail business and online shopping. Being interviewed by two people was nerve wrecking at that time. Either way I manage to do both of these requirements and ended up getting the Brag Scholarship. I was excited when I found out that I got the scholarship. One of the people that interviewed me, Laticha, told me that I have to take a picture and attend an event where all the recipient will be recognized. The event was held at the Marriot Marquis Hotel which is located in Times Square.


My friends and I had to buy a dress for this event and Laticha told us that the event was going to be similar to an Oscar event. I had to go shopping because I had nothing to wear and I was extremely nerves because I didn't know what to expect. Laticha brought a friend to Thurgood Marshall Academy on October 8 because we were going to have a meeting. The meeting was about teaching us how to eat properly in this event and they explain to us the flow of the event. We all had to bring in one parent and the last advice that gave to all us was to be ourselves because these people are not here to judge us.


The event began in October 17 in the Marriot Marquis Hotel and it started at 5:30 p.m. There were a lot of people in this event and it felt as if I was in an Oscar event. My friends and I took picture with our parents and with each other. We had a great time because we got the chance to take a picture with Nick Cannon and we met famous people like Lloyd Boston as well as Iman. Moreover; we all got the chance to meet our sponsor. The company that sponsored me was TJX company located in Massachusetts and the people who were a part of this company were really nice. At the end of the party, we all were given a bag that contained perfume, chocolates, a tie, and candles. I came home at 12 p.m. and I have to say that was given the chance to experience something new.

Freebie Week

This is my freebie week for marking period (1).

Phillis Wheatley On Trial (CRR)

Henry Louis Gates, Jr., an African American literary critic, wrote an article about Wheatley being put on trial. Phillis Wheatley is a slave girl who belong to John and Susanna Wheatley. Her owners taught her how to read and write. Being able to read and write was the onset to writing poetry. Her poems became popular in the Unites States and in Great Britain. However; there were people who didn't appreciate Wheatley's work such as the 18th century philosophers and the intellectual white men. Their disapproval towards Wheatley's poem lead to the trail that caused controversy between the intellectual white men who do not believe that Wheatley wrote her own poems and Wheatley who wants to prove them wrong. Before October 8, 1772, Phillis Wheatley, a teen who confronted eighteen of the most influential thinkers and politicians of the Massachusetts Colony wanted to prove how well Negros can write poetry.


She was very audacious for standing up against eighteen white men to prove her point. This trail was a big challenge, but it also was a turning point in the African American community. Even though she had people who went against her, she also provided evidence and passed the exam that the intellectual men gave to her. The outcome of the trail was that Wheatley is considered to be a qualified writer and she was notice as the person who wrote all of her poems. Moreover; the result of the trial open the doors for African American because Wheatley proved that blacks can write poetry. Wheatley's life took a new route in which she gained freedom and made friendship with George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. However; her new life has caused hardship because she married a man name John Peters who abandoned her soon after she gave birth to their third child and sold the only copy of the second manuscript that she wrote.


Her accomplishments as a poet and risk taker had taken her to world full of hardship and happiness. It was very upsetting to find out that Wheatley death was full of sadness and I was very mad of the fact that she married an ungrateful man. The trail outcome caught me by surprise because I thought she was going to lose. However; she proved her point during the trail and is admired for the drastic change she created in proving to the intellectual white men that blacks can write and read.

What Are Your Thoughts on the Common Core Standards? (SSR)



Michael Appleton for The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/19/education/common-core-testing-spurs-outrage-and-protest-among-parents.html?_r=0

The standards for testing are raising up and the expectations are getting bigger. A tough new test is being created and it was first implemented in Kentucky of last year; scores for the common core standards fell significantly. About 45 states has establish the common core standards test in their schools. This tough test consist of independent thinking, with an emphasis on relating material to real-world issues. New York officials assume that if they implement the common core standards into all of their school then they will see the same significant decline that they saw in Kentucky. However; New York officials said that leaving the old standards intact would be worse because thousands of students will be put into remedial programs in college. The test was distributed in some schools in New York such as Earth School, Public School 152, Hostos-Lincoln Academy, and Columbia Secondary School for Math, Science and Engineering. Moreover; the students response to this common core standards have led to complaints, protests, and tears within students as well as parents. David Coleman, president of the College Board is all in favor for this test. Teachers had warned their students of this test and experimented with the common core standards by testing their students. Many students began to cry and some were outrage that they left for duration of the test.


I was shock about what I read and this new tough test that was created/administered in some schools can add a lot of anxieties. Not only would we have the SAT over our shoulder, but we might also have the common core standards. I don't know if I should feel mad or worry about this test because many of the students who have taken this test especially the people from Kentucky experience a drastic decline in their test scores. We all are afraid about this new test because we don't want one test to determine our lives. In order for us to implement this tough test, we must prepare the students by getting teachers who would guide/ familiarize/ drill in all of these students in all schools to passing the common core standardized test. If we prepare kids ahead of time then we might not see such a drastic decline in test scores; moreover, New York officials won't have to withstand the tears as well as outrage of students. This topic has open my eyes in realizing the changes that is going on in education for this year.

Music (PB)

Music seems to be one of the many things that we all have in common because we all listen to music all the time. The sound of music allows each of us to dance and forget about all of our problems. Many of us use music as a technique to do homework or assignments on time. I have two cultures which are the  American Culture and my subculture (Hispanic). Being composed of two different cultures gives me the chance to enjoy both types of genre in the music world. Because I know two different languages, music has more of an impact in my life due to the fact that I hear each types of genre of music equally. We all have special ways when it comes to interacting with music which causes us to get more closer to other people. Dancing or singing along expands the way we link to new people that share our same passion of music. Moreover, music creates a sense of an open mind and it sends out a message to each individual. I guess you can think of music as way of communicating with all of us who hears a specific music genre. Not only does music gives us the motivation to dance and sing along as a group, it has also been used as a technique to soothe our way to sleep. Whenever an individual listen to music, the song that they are listening to sometimes creates a solitude place. This place that we create is because we all want that desire to have a moment of being alone. In most cases music is used as entertainment to start a party. Music can be characterize as a friend that can be used as company whenever were in the train or outside. The solitude place that we create whenever we hear music is way of thinking about our problems; it's our way of starting out a pleasant day with the songs we love the most. Music is a part of how we identify ourselves and it creates different personality that we not aware of. The introduction of music has had a huge impact in our lives and will continue to have that same impact because music is about  us. I love music and it's a part of my culture because I hear music all the time due to the fact that gives me a sense of happiness/tranquility.

Tech Teens Social issue (FC)

As the days goes by, teen’s lives in school or outside of school is impinged by social issues around them. There are myriad of social issues that teens go through in which they must face alone. These issues are inevitable and they need a helping hand so that they can surpass these dilemmas.  They are influence by these social issues in which they get tied down to them. Teens are vulnerable and need someone to guide them. One issue that is popular amongst teens is bullying that abate their self esteem level as well as security. However; there are ways of helping which are Public service announcements that give out information for every single issue as well as where they get help. Bullying might be an obstacles but it can be fix if we collaborate together to help end it.

For every issue there is a background story that is called the cause or root of the dilemma. Social issues like bullying are passed down to many people who have parents who encourage them to act as bullies. In most cases parents might be the cause for why their teens are vicious towards other who can’t defend themselves. According to the Government of Alberta, there are some parents who constantly abuse their children and with that abuse it causes a child to have a lot of animosity towards others. Some time the aggressors have no emotion which makes them believe that it is ok to disrespect other without noticing that it will drastically impinge their victims. The third cause that makes a bully is the feeling of power over an individual. Once they become superior it is hard to stop them because they love the fact how they can deteriorate a person. According to John Cloud, who believe dominance is a trait that bullies want to keep for the simple fact that they are recognize for it.

    The effect of bullying is a symbol of a scar for teens in which they are tormented by the impact of their social issues. Bullying is causing many victims to have physical and mental issue that live through them every day because they haven’t gotten over the abuse. All of these victims sooner or later have fear that grows stronger within them in which they no longer trust people or can’t go on in life. According to Robert Gebbia, fear can also lead to another effect which is retaliation that causes a victim to get their revenge from their bullies and they soon become the new aggressor. This is why bullying is bad.

Salvador Dali Painting response (FC)

                                                         Buried but then reborn

I see someone coming into this world but the person is forcing themselves to come out because as you can see the person legs is pushing out. This reminds me of a fetus coming out from his mother womb because the egg symbolizes something hatching. I also see yellow probably representing light but then I see a dark background with no one around probably symbolizing evil or depression. Maybe this person is struggling from living the same rote and it’s express through what looks like blood to me. The huge blood drop is facing towards the person so that when he comes out he can see his reflection. As for the person on the right I think symbolize death because it is an old skeleton woman with a child who have similar feature as the woman. To me the woman look like she is burying the person a live because the yellow on the egg that I interpret as glue is what she is creating because the yellow is more on her sides as if she is taking revenge on the person who made her starve to death. I say this because the woman looks as if she never eaten anything in her entire life because she is very emaciated and the child is trying to tell her to stop speaking cruel of the person or to stop burying him because her pointing with no happiness tells me that she is telling the child bad things about the guy. The thing on the top to me represents something that is also assisting the woman in burying him because it can be something that would cover the egg. I say this because the thing on the top is the same size as the egg. The meaning that can be drawn by this image is a man who got tired of living the same life and probably caused some damages in the world that he left behind so he took a nap inside of this egg and realize that he needs to repair certain things. So he emerges from the egg to correct his mistake of leaving the world by returning in which some people opposes because he already afflicted pain but he is willing to struggle so that he can get out and show that he is a new man.                                                                                                         (FC)