Stressful times lead to more "politic wars"

Having an election during such a stressful time puts a lot of pressure on the candidates. The article, Obama Rebuffs McCain on Debate Delay, talks about one of the many issues being dealt with at this time. Economy. John McCain wanted to delay a debate that was going to take place at the University of Mississippi because of the economy crisis. McCain believes that there is a time for both parties to come together to solve problems instead of putting politics first. Barack Obama agrees, however, he feels that this is a time were the people need to hear from their candidates. He thinks that presidents are supposed to be able to handle more than one thing at once, and in a time like this they are supposed to step up and help their people. So, inevitably, Obama rejected the call for delay. My thoughts on this are back and forth and back and forth. Both candidates make excellent points, but I can't decide which one I agree with. I agree that the candidates should let the people have time to deal with the stress of the economy on their own because they will be able to take care of things if they have less to worry about. However, I agree that the people need to hear from the candidates right now because the candidates are supposed to be leaders. In the future, if our president can't handle big issues like so, then who knows what chaos America will end up in. By the looks of things, there are more problems to come up before things get better. The economy has been going down for years and even though it seems that this is the worse point, it will only get worse before it gets better. With prices high, homelessness, environment problems (such as global warming, pollution, etc.), debts, resources running low, war, high crime rates, etc., how will McCain be able to handle all of that if he can't handle having a debate in an economy crisis? With the bailout not passing, the DOW dropping, banks closing, and big investment companies going into bankruptcy, how does this reflect on McCain? What has he done to help the economy? Although, Obama hasn't helped the people of America in this time either. Sure he says all of these great things, but what did he follow through on? I personally believe that right now both candidates need to step back and look at the situation together and with other congress men and women. The candidates, congress men/women, advisers, and president Bush need to put politics aside. There is a time and a place for competition, but not during a crisis like this, now is not the time. They need to come up with a solution, and actually follow through with it. We, as Americans, made this happen; so together we can fix it again. Most people don't realize that we have the power to control the stocks and the economy. Individual people can't change things, but together we can. Sure it sounds simple, and I know it's not. The economy didn't just get this way though. Things don't just happen. It happened because of our spending habits and our use of our limited resources. If we stopped using so much gas, it wouldn't be so limited. Little things like that can make a huge difference, it will just take time. People are acting like no one saw this coming and that all of the sudden it just happened. But some people saw this coming, and we've been going down hill for a while now so it's not just a sudden drop. 

Is technology moving too fast?

The article, Reading Online is not Reading on Paper by the blog moving at the speed of creativity, makes some good points. It talks about the way the world is changing with the new technology and the new opportunities we have today. Some teachers like to remain traditional and stick to books, while others are completely on board with new technology. In this blog post, it discusses the fact that classes are becoming digitalized and kids are drifting away from the skill to read books. The bloggers referred to reading online as "screen-scanning." Now that some of my classes are becoming more and more technologically advanced, I have noticed that I am developing new reading habits. Even though it's not quite a habit yet, I have caught myself "screen-scanning" before and then have to go back and re-read the piece. In this blog, Mark Federman says, "Screen reading cannot provide those skills." ["Those skills" referring to reading actual text on paper] I agree with this statement, however I also believe that it is a good thing because it teaches new skills as well. Reading a book versus reading online is not the same, true. Although, reading online is something new and I believe that students are benefiting from it. It's good to have the skill to read on paper, but if technology is advancing, why shouldn't we? This is what the world is becoming so we need to accept it. These things are being created to help improve education. So if we don't take advantage of these resources then why are they being invented. People are just afraid to let go of old habits. Some day we won't need to be able to read on paper, so it would be better to learn now, and ease into the new ways. It's great that we have learned so much that we can create these things, so without education improving, neither would technology. If we don't use the new technology, we will stay in the same position we are in this time. New technology isn't only affecting the education system, it is also improving medical conditions as well. New vaccines are being found and created because of the science technology we have today. Convicts are being brought to justice easier because of new forensic science technology. Communication, transportation, health, you name it. Everything is changing so instead of fighting it, we might as well just go with it. 

Change up in AP classes

In one of the many great discussions of Karl Fisch, he and the faculty went over the Advanced Placement curricular schedule. In the article "Advanced placement is changing" he states the many changes in the Advanced Placement classes. Teachers decided that it was too hard to cover all of the curricular throughout the school year and get the students prepared for the "big test" in May. The standards for getting accepted into Advanced Placement classes changed as well and now teachers have to deal with teaching more students all of the curricular and preparing all of them for the final assessment. In the PowerPoint showed at the discussion, it stated that, "Courses should emphasize deep understanding rather than comprehensive coverage." This goes to show that not only is the Arapahoe High school faculty trying to have students be more prepared and cover all of the material, but it is also trying to be thorough and help the students rather than just lecturing and making the students just memorize everything. They want to do what is best for the student and they want to help them excel as a learner. Thus proving that Arapahoe High school has a great education system and is a great learning environment. Also stated in the text, "Socially supported interactions strengthen one's ability to learn with understanding." This supports the factor of Arapahoe faculty trying to help students excel, and that they are basing the way they teach off of the way students learn. It is not only Advanced Placement classes that have a change up in the style of teaching, just the curricular. Faculty members are trying to give the same learning experience to all students because they want every learner to excel. 

Simple cases are becoming too public

I read several articles and was debating which one to respond to, however, one did catch my eye. I read and article titled "Teen held for manslaughter after giving shotgun to suicidal roomie". It is about two men, 18 and 19, who had been drinking and discussing suicide. One of them had a shotgun and he gave it to the other one, who then killed himself with it. I think that people are very sensitive about topics like this, so I'm hesitant to share my response but I feel that it is only right and I hope not to be judged but only heard. In all honesty, I think that the charges are ridiculous. The older man, Jacob Weiss, is being held accountable for the fault of this death. My first thought was that they were both intoxicated and neither of them were in any condition to make smart choices. Adding to that, I wondered why people put the blame on him when the other man was the who made the choice and actually pulled the trigger. I don't really think that Weiss should be imprisoned because in this situation it is unknown if he had any influence on the mans decision to take his own life. All that the public was told was that they had been "talking" about suicide. Everyone is just pointing fingers, that is what has become of America. He was only an assist to suicide at the least. In my opinion, people are blaming the alcohol, the talk, Weiss giving him the gun, what have you, just because no one will step up and admit that maybe this man wanted to die. People would rather blame a nearly innocent man then listen to the truth. If they don't like it, they don't hear it. If they don't want to see it, they are blind. Our society has become too pertinacious and arrogant that they only believe what they think is true. Everyone has there own opinion and to them that is all that matters. They are the only person who is right. People won't open their eyes to the truth. Everything is a competition to be the best, the smartest, the most popular, etc. Our pretentious ways have changed the natural way people think, everyone has to be on top. Whether it be socially, economically, politically, whatever, all that matters is that people are losing sight of normality. They have to blame this man because they can't accept the fact that it's not his fault. Things are changing but laws aren't. If this had happened in, let's say, the 70s. People wouldn't blame him then would they? Maybe he thought that he was helping his friend, but I don't want to make any assumptions, but this case has been blown way out of proportion. It shouldn't be this public, and I would think for the sake of the families the press would at least show some common courtesy and let it go instead of making it a big deal and making it seem like it is all Jacob Weiss' s fault. When in fact, manslaughter is killing a human being, in a manner less culpable than murder. Did Weiss KILL this man? No! This man killed himself, the only charges that should apply are: assisted suicide, under aged possession of alcohol, and under aged public intoxication.

Illegal Immigrants still on streets after multiple crimes

After reading the article, Suspect in Baskin-Robins crash formally charged, has bail raised to $350,000, I was left awestruck. Francis Hernandez has been an illegal immigrant in America since he was five years old. Hernandez has a long criminal record and no I.D./ Drivers license. On September 4, he crashed into a Baskin Robins in Aurora and killed three people. This issue has raised many concerns and now knowing about his long record, I'm questioning how the authority is enforced in Colorado. Do illegal immigrants get off easier that legal citizens? If an average American had done this, they would be in prison, would they not? How is it that an illegal, who has a criminal record, hasn't gotten deported or at the least persecuted? I can't even find the words to describe how I feel about this issue. There are so many mixed feelings that I can barely even settle on a single thought. I can only settle on one, Francis Hernandez should have been behind bars a long time ago. We, as Americans, talk about all the things we are going to do to stop immigration and deport all of the illegals, but we've barely made any progress. Sure deporting all of the illegals may be a little harsh, but we still haven't done anything to keep out the immigrants that are coming into  our country. It will obviously take a while, but it will also take a lot of effort, which I'm not so sure that Americans are willing to put forth. Hernandez is not the only example of illegal immigrants not getting punished, but I think that his case should be pursued because he came into our country, didn't have to deal with paying taxes, fines, etc., and then he killed three innocent Americans, one of which was a child. Some people don't see the seriousness of this situation. Some people may say, "Oh, just deport him." But no, why should we send him back to Guatemala so he can just go on living his life? He came into our country and committed several crimes, he needs to serve our punishments and follow our rules.