10 Things that's important to me!

1.Child abuse/ neglect
2.Poverty
3.Bullying
4.Addiction
5.Freedom
6.Kidnapping
7.Marriage
8.Police brutality
9.Racism
10.HIV/AIDS

proposal

Essay Proposal
As we all know prescription drugs are prescribed by a doctor for pain. But here recently people have been taking pain and nerve pills to get high. There have been many people die while being on pain pills, because of overdosing. Prescription drug abuse is a serious and growing problem. Narcotics, sedatives, tranquilizers, and stimulants can all lead to drug addiction. Prescription drug abuse is growing because doctors are prescribing more drugs than ever before, because online pharmacies make it easy to get prescriptions and the growing number of pain clinics. According to Lois White in her book “Foundations of Nursing: Caring for the whole person” she states barbiturates are less prescribed but more abused and are available on the illegal market (White 1221).
This topic is very close to me. I am from Pikeville, Kentucky and in this town that is all you see. People are destroying their lives because of prescription pills. I have had so many family members affected by drug abuse. Not only do we have to worry about the people taking drugs, we also have to deal with the emotions we are feeling. According to the Institute of Addiction Medicine, in 2007 2.1 million people had misused pain relievers, and two million people are Opioid dependent (“Institute of Addiction”). I can remember when I was 13 years old and realizing my dad had a drug problem. I’ve had to deal with his drug problem for the last eight years. No matter how much I begged him to quit, he never did. I have had to deal with his lying, stealing, and cheating; that was very hard on me and my sisters. “The abuse of prescription drugs, primarily Hydrocodone and Oxycodone, remain one of the largest problems in Southeastern Kentucky” (Drug Rehab Kentucky). Prescription drug abuse is a very dangerous addiction. According to Richard Wilson in his book “Drug abuse prevention: A school and community partnership”, they tend to slow things down. They can cause the body to slow down to the point of respiratory failure (Wilson 88).
I researched prescription drug abuse to inform others of the dangers with this addiction. This information will be useful to anyone that has family or friends that suffer with prescription drug addiction.
Prescription drug abuse is something that everyone has to deal with in one way or another. It is destroying lives and families, and something has to be done about it. Addiction affects the old and young alike. If people with prescription drug addiction could see and feel the pain they are causing their families you would think they would turn their lives around, for their families.











Works cited
“Drug Rehab Kentucky, Alcohol Treatment Drug Recovery Rehab Facilities. “Drug Rehab
Alcohol Drug Rehabilitation Addiction Treatment Programs. Web. 10. Sept. 2011.
.

Institute of Addiction Medicine. Web. 10. Sept. 2011. http://www.ioam.org/statistics.html>.

White, Lois. Foundations of nursing: caring for the whole person. Albany, NY: Delmar/Thomson Learning, 2001. Print.

Wilson, Richard W., and Cheryl A. Kolander. Drug abuse prevention: a school and community partnership. Sudbury, Mass.:Jones and Batlett, 2000. Print.

Response #5

Crisis with Education
In your article “Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital” you talk about how public schools need reformed. I agree with you, our public schools are in need of major reforming. I think that private Ivy League schools are great for those that can afford them, but there are only a few that can. I think that the way public schools teach needs to be changed to better match up with private schools. Like you I agree that education has become a way for individuals and businesses to become rich. I don’t feel that any one person or business should become rich off our children. I don’t agree that schools should be considered a money making business.
In your article I feel that you can convey the message that public schools, elementary and secondary levels, are not aimed at making children knowledgeable or skilled. It is aimed more at teaching kid’s routine and behavior. I agree with you to some extent. Kids today do not have the knowledge today like they once had. It seems that more and more students have a behavior problem that takes a lot of time and effort from the teacher. If schools are teaching behavior modification then why have things gotten so bad? In public schools I think that is one of the first things that needs addressed.
In order for public schools to work they need to follow the private Ivy League example. Changing public schools curriculum and teaching levels to match the private schools would be no more expensive on the public schools. The teachers at the public schools income would be much lower than the private schools, but the children would have the benefits of the higher education. In education a rich child should have no more opportunities than a poor child. Your article seems to say that public school children grow to become unskilled general labor workers, where private school kids should be leaders of the government. That is just not fair.
While reading your article I read about Bush’s NCLB program. Holding teachers accountable when children don’t learn is important. A teacher must really have the desire to educate children. They can’t just think of their jobs as a paycheck. In the NCLB program it does hold teachers accountable to some extent. The plan was designed to make children more proficient in learning. According to your article this is done by making standardized testing mandatory. If the school does not rate proficient in the testing they have a certain amount of time to raise their scores. After reading your article I learned that if schools are unable to raise their scores then they had to undergo reconstruction. Reconstruction was done by the following “ a)change to a charter school b) lay off principal and staff and hire new ones c)hand over school to private management d) give control of the school to the state”. I feel that this is a good program because it does hold the facility accountable for teaching children.
I agree with you that education needs reformed teaching our kids is not about making money. Rich kids and poor kids both need the benefits of a good education. Bush’s NCLB program is a good start at reforming our schools public or private.







Works cited

Foster, John Bellamy. "Education and the Structural Crisis of Capital :: Monthly Review." Monthly Review, An Independent Socialist Magazine. Web. 07 Sept. 2011. .

Response #4

What’s wrong with the Education System?
Public education is a good thing. It gives every child the opportunity to grow and learn. Before public education many children could not afford to go to school. They needed to stay home and help the family survive. Even though public education is a good thing there needs to be changes made to compete with the time. Public education needs to be reformed. According to Ken Robinson, children need to be educated to take their place in the economies of the twenty first century. In order for children to move into the twenty first century then changes need to be made in the public school system.
One of the problems with public education is the teachers. In the article, “Caring in Education” Nel Noddings conveys the message that teachers need to care about their students. This statement is so true. If a student doesn’t feel like a teacher cares about them they won’t want to apply themselves. The student feels that “why should I care if my teacher doesn’t”? I feel that the majority of teachers do genuinely car for their students, but there are some that don’t care. They just look at teaching as just a job. If a teacher truly cares about their students it can make a lifetime impact on the child. Another problem with public schools is to many children are being medicated for no reason.
The video that Ken Robinson did talks about giving kids Ritalin. He states kids now days are being medicated like we have our tonsils out. Ken also states kids are giving Ritalin, harmful drugs, to stay focused at school. I believe that kids should not get medicine because they are hyper. They are kids they are supposed to be hyper. Many school aged children are prescribed Ritalin because the teacher recommends it. I feel that sometimes teachers don’t want to deal with rowdy children so they recommend Ritalin to calm them. Children act up sometimes just because they are bored. I think it is the teacher’s job to keep the child’s attention. If the child is focused and enjoying class they won’t be so rowdy, they will be more interested in learning.
In the article “Caring in Education” and in the video “Changing Education Paradigms” there are many problems in the public school system and then education in general. Public education is a good thing because it gives every child the opportunity to grow and learn. In order for public education to work changes need to be made to accommodate the child’s level of learning. Children need to be cared for by the teacher. With so many electronics children’s attention needs to be keep by different means. Simply standing in front of them and talking no longer works. Children are becoming smarter earlier than ever before, so teachers need to grow at the same rate as the child.












Works cited

Mean, That I. "Nel Noddings - Caring and Education." Contents @ the Informal Education Homepage. Web. 31 Aug. 2011. .

"RSA Animate - Changing Education Paradigms - YouTube." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Web. 31 Aug. 2011.

Response #3

Americas Situation

Everyday you can hear and read stories of someone losing their job due to the economy. When a person loses their job and are unable to find another one then they have no other choice but to collect unemployment. It is a very sad situation to hear the large number of people who no longer have the jobs they once had. I myself have family members who have no choice but to collect the government checks; because they no longer have the jobs they relied on. The situation in America today is being compared to the great depression of the 1930’s.
In the book “Someplace in America” by Dale Maharidge it tells about the unemployment and economic problems in America. The book talks about a woman going from wealth to poverty. She lost her home and now has to relay on soup kitchens for her food. Things in America have gotten so bad that some woman have to work three jobs just to keep their family together. Even with three incomes the woman in the book is still struggling to support her family. The book has many stories of individuals who have fallen on hard times. Some of these people are struggling due to lost jobs, some are struggling because lack of medical benefits has drained their savings and some are struggling simply because they have nowhere to go. One story I can relate to in the book is about Jim and Bonnie Alexander who migrated to Texas from Michigan hoping to find employment. They had to leave Michigan after losing their jobs. I can relate to this story because most of my family lives in Michigan. When the auto companies failed it was bad for a lot of people.
I have two uncles who have been collecting unemployment for two years. They both worked at the same factory for 16-18 years. The company they worked for made auto axles for a large auto company. When the automobile companies had a big down fall a few years ago the business they worked for shut down and sent most of the work to their plant in Mexico. It was a bad situation because they already had 18 years seniority with their jobs. They signed up on unemployment and looked for work, with no luck of finding a job. There were no jobs in the auto business to be found. After searching for jobs they decided to return to school and study a new field. With the help of a government program they are able to return to school free of charge.
I never lived during the Great Depression but to me the way things are now I don’t see how it was any worse back then. Dale Maharidge states in the book, that “officials brag that another great depression has been avoided.” Like Dale, I don’t see what has been done for workers and low-income Americans to better their situations. America came out of the Great Depression and I feel we will come out of this bad situation. While we are coming out of this situation the people of America should not be forgotten. I long for the day when we hear of families buying homes not losing them, having money to buy food instead of standing in soup lines, and all Americans having health benefits so they don’t lose their savings to pay for medical bills.

Works cited

Maharidge, Dale, and Michael Williamson. Someplace like America: Tales from the New Great Depression. Berkeley: University of California, 2011. Print.

Response #2

Child Cases: Death Investigation in America
The article I chose to do was child cases in America. The story was about three cases involving children’s deaths. The first case the video talked about was a man named Ernie Lopez, a citizen of Amarillo, Texas. He was a local mechanic who was babysitting for a doctor in his area. Doctor Vas dropped her three children off to Ernie Lopez. He then fed the children their breakfast, the baby six month old; Isis would not drink her bottle. Ernie then went to put her down in her crib. He came back to find her not breathing. He called 911 and told them what had happened. Isis died the next day; the medical examiner ruled the autopsy as a homicide and sexual assault. The police arrested Ernie for murder and sexual assault. He was then convicted by the juror, and was sentenced to sixty years in prison. Then after eight years Doctor Michael Laposata, an expert from Vanderbilt University who studies blood disorders that mimic child and sexual abuse found that Isis had a blood disorder. Ernie Lopez is still in prison hoping for a retrial.
The other case was a mother from El Paso, Texas. Monea Tyson convicted of killing her two year old son. Monea spent two years in lock down in county jail until she was acquitted, because the results of the autopsy were wrong. The other case happened in Georgia where Melonie Ware, a daycare provider, who was accused of shaking a baby to death. She was sentenced to life in prison until the day she was acquitted because of the medical examiner findings were incorrect(The Child Cases).
As a mother I know that losing my child to a disease or a natural cause would devastate me. But being proven guilty by jurors of the crime that I didn’t commit would be so much worse. As many people know there are a few natural causes that can occur in a child’s death. One natural cause of a child’s death would be Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the unexpected, sudden death of a child under age 1 in which an autopsy does not show an explainable cause of death(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). When I first brought my son home from the hospital I was so scared that he would die in his sleep because of SIDS. That was always my worst fear when my son was an infant. The cause of SIDS is unknown, although there are several theories. Many doctors and researchers now believe that SIDS is not a single condition that is always caused by the same medical problems, but infant death caused by several different factors(Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). I believe that Monea Tyson’s son died of sudden infant death syndrome.
Another cause in a child’s death is shaken baby syndrome. SBS/AHT (shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma) is a term used to describe the constellation of signs and symptoms resulting from violent shaking or shaking and impacting of the head of an infant or small child(The National Center). In my opinion that is murder; because you are shaking a baby. As someone shakes their infants head their brain is hitting against their skull; causing brain damage or even death.
Out of two of the three cases I talked about the accused was acquitted. Although I think Ernie Lopez was not guilty the juror thought otherwise. The evidence is there proving his innocents and in a just society he should be released. Thousands of children are killed every day and in most cases the accused is guilty of the crime. Finding out about the truth about these children’s death must have been a big relief for the parents. Losing a child to natural causes would be hard, but losing them due to murder is worse.

Works cited

"The Child Cases - Video | FRONTLINE | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 23 Aug. 2011. .

The National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. Web. 23 Aug. 2011. .

"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - PubMed Health." Web. 23 Aug. 2011. .

Response #1

Hackers

What is a Hacker? A Hacker in my opinion is someone who breaks into someone else’s computer to get there personal information. The hacker steals the victims’ social security number, their bank information, and their identity. In the Mirriam-Websters dictionary the meaning of the word hacker, is a person who secretly gets access to a computer system in order to get information and cause damage. There are many different types of the word “hacker”. There are hackers for computer security, programmer subculture, and hobbyist. According to an online article “Hacker is a term used by some to mean "a clever programmer" and by others, especially those in popular media, to mean "someone who tries to break into computer systems"(“What Is Hacker?).
While watching the news you hear stories of hackers everyday. One example is a CNN article I recently read about hackers targeting prisons and other real-world targets. In the article it states that hackers are virtual tools to hack into anything that has a computer in it. A computer science professional has shown that they can use computers to open cell doors in prisons. The prisons were hacked in only two hours by someone living in Virginia. One of the reasons why a prison was hacked is because it was linked to the internet; this is something that should have never happened.
Everyone loves their smart phones, but they are easy targets for hackers. Hackers are targeting I phones that run off Google operating system. The hackers can get information from IPhones such as all phone call details and they can even record the calls made from the phone. They have even went as far as to “cause a phone to rack up unwanted service charges, record calls, intercept text messages and even dump emails, photos and other private content directly onto criminals' servers”(Robertson). In an article I read it states that nearly 1 million smart phones have been hacked just in the last six months(Robertson). These numbers are very scary. It has to be controlled and for the most part it is the owner’s responsibility to keep viruses and hackers away.
Identity theft is a real problem in the United States. In CBS news article states, “Almost 10 million Americans were victims of identity theft last year”( Nanji). Once a person’s identity has been stolen it can take years and thousands of dollars to resolve the damage done. John Harrison, a salesman from Connecticut, was one victim of identity theft. The person hacked John Harrison’s identity charged over 265,000 dollars in his name buying many different things from clothes to cars. The man who done these terrible things was sent to prison for three years. This doesn’t make the situation any easier for John. He has spent over 2,000 trying to rebuild his name and is still in debt over 100,000 dollars.
Hacking can be a very dangerous thing for everyone involved. Businesses can be destroyed, names can be ruined, and everyone’s safety can be at risk. To hackers breaking into personal information gives them a feeling of achievement. The don’t think of the consequences, most just do it for the money.



Works cited
"Hacker - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. .

Robertson, Jordan. "LAS VEGAS: Your Smartphone: a New Frontier for Hackers | Business | Kentucky.com." Lexington, KY Local News Provided by the Lexington Herald-Leader Newspaper | Kentucky.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. .

Sutter, John D. "Hackers Take Aim at Prison Locks and Other Real-world Targets - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. .

"What Is Hacker? - Definition from Whatis.com." Information Security Information, News and Tips - SearchSecurity.com. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. .

Nanji, Ayaz. "An Identity Theft Nightmare - CBS News." Breaking News Headlines: Business, Entertainment & World News - CBS News. Web. 20 Aug. 2011. .