Reading Reflection

I wouldn't say that reading is my favorite thing to do or that I'm in love with reading. I would say though that reading is important and a major part of life. For me reading is more of a goal requirement than a hobby like for some people. I did like reading more when I was younger. My mom would read to me before I started school so I was interested then. I think it was all the illustrations and bright colors that attracted me to them. But now books changed and became less interesting. The genres I like changes every now and then. I enjoy reading horror, mystery, and action books. When I was in 3rd - 4th grade I read mostly in school because I didn't really like talking to people or being bothered, even though I had friends and people where nice. At home I usually played with my brothers in our backyard. From 5th grade until 7th grade I kind of talked to more people but not to many and lost interest in reading. I only read in school and for homework if I needed to. Now in 8th grade I had a goal to reach. I read a lot in order to reach that goal and found that not every book was so boring or interesting. I became interested in a series, the Tomorrow Series, which was about a war. It was interesting because you could imagine everything and you could almost be the main character. The scenes doesn't just change to something random they connect into the next and are clear. Another book I picked out because it looked interesting by the cover and blurb. This wasn't exactly a series but a continuation of the first book. They were called: "Flux" and "Fixed". These books for me were confusing, boring and I regretted reading them. I couldn't picture almost every scene clearly and it was moving slow then fast. I understand how the character overall was but at the end I didn't understand to much what was going on. I reached my goal some time ago and don't read so much now. But I do give reading a little more of a chance now. It's still not a hobby of mine. Even though not every text is the same its necessary to be able to read every type of text in life. This is what makes reading important. This is also what changed and will keep changing my likes and dislikes of reading.

Writing Reflection

Writing is kind of a challenge for me. It's not that I don't like writing. It's just that it's difficult for me. I find writing difficult because whenever I write I usually tell and don't show what I'm writing about. I like writing when it's free writing or simple because it's not to be checked and it's actually my writing. But when it comes to editing and revising my writing that's what makes it challenging. Actually editing isn't so hard. Revising is what I needed to work on more. I guess I grew as a writer throughout this year. I was told in almost all my writing to work on the same problem. I was told that the details and grammar were good and my writing is organized, but to show not tell and explain so that my writing can be as clear as it can be for the reader. I've tried to work on that and have gotten better, maybe I haven't mastered it but I'm doing better than I did at the beginning of 8th grade.

Reading Reflection

Reading has been a adventure for me throughout my middle school year. In a way, reading has to be part of my life. In the beginning of 8th grade, I didn't like reading at all because I had a low reading level and I didn't understand much books. But, as I keep choosing books randomly, the books started to get more interesting and I started to get more knowledge of The Holocaust because some of the books I randomly choose where about The Holocaust. The Holocaust to me was extremely depressing and painful. Jewish people gets taken from all over the world, for no apparent reason and they all get shipped to this crowded area where Jewish people tries to survive with what they have. If I was a soldier during The Holocaust, I'll try to fight for the Jews and betray the soldiers! Every soldiers were greedy back then because they needed money to survive, which they took the job to become a soldier so they earn money. Some Jews were greedy and will also betray their own kind by becoming a soldier so they won't die or starve to death.

During my whole Middle School year, I learned quite enough things that will satisfy me throughout my High School year, about reading. Reading doesn't only have to be about books. It can be about magazines, Internet blogs, and many other things online. I also notice that every author that wrote a book, includes a sense of humor in their books, that will make readers connects the book texts to their life. For example, the book "Elsewhere" By Gabrielle Zevin, was a book that is all made up by imagination about afterlife. I compared this book to my life, seeing when I die, will I end up in another world where life will turn from old age to young age and be reborn as a baby again once you turn into a toddler, like in "Elsewhere" or will we dead people be ghosts? Life can be quite confusing sometimes.

After reading all these interesting books during my 8th grade year, my reading level tremendously increase. I choose books by looking at the front cover of a book and reading the blurb after. There are also some books that are part of a series I choose. If I like the book, I'll keep reading the series. For example, "The Lightning Thief," which is part of Percy Jackson and The Olympians series. The facts in the books are all beyond powerful. The action catchers my attention. I wish there were more books like "The Lightning Thief" out in the world. I recommend this series to all young teenagers because I know they'll love it! Like I did when I first read "The Lightning Thief." I will definitely not end my reading experience now and definitely will not end it throughout my whole entire life.

Was The Spanish-American War a Just War?

The USS MAINE was sent to Cuba to help the Cuban and American citizens there from Spain. At some point the USS MAINE exploded. The U.S. blames Spain for the explosion and Spain says it was an accident, they're innocent. So President McKinley makes a call for war to the congress. Then the congress declares war on Spain to figure out about 78 years later that the explosion was an accident on the ship. So I think that the U.S. waisted it's time declaring war on Spain. It was an unjust action that led to many unjust results.

Of course there were different opinions and beliefs about going to war or not going to war. One side about going to war was the imperialist point of view. Imperialists were persuaded and believed that it was America's destiny to spread and have power worldwide. Imperialist thought that going to war would be beneficial and help with many causes. I would have agreed to have helped out and improve the country but with a different more just approach that wasn't so controlling. Another side about not going to war was the anti-imperialists point of view. Anti-imperialists were against going to war. They wanted to just have peace and stay out of war. They believed that each country should have it's own freedom, power, rights , and shouldn't be abused or treated wrong. Also anti-imperialists think that no one country has this "Right of Conquest". I agree with them but I also think that countries should communicate and help each other out. Maybe not like we want them to be but to let them become manageable so that this can be the most just action.

The President at the time, McKinley, was against war at first. But after time his mind changed and he was convinced to make a call for war to the congress. President McKinley's reasons for wanting war were overall to help, protect, and improve our country, Cuba and the people. Also to make peace so that trading resources may continue. To me President McKinley's reasoning and arguments were for his country and the people. The congress accepted the call and declared war on Spain. The explosion of the U.S.S. Maine wasn't the reason to go into war. The beliefs were the reason and some situations. The explosion was just an unfortunate event at that specific time that just gave more reason to the people and imperialists to go on. I would disagree with about half of McKinley's beliefs and that his actions weren't really his. The imperialists probably got to him and persuade him to begin his unjust actions towards other innocent countries/ islands.

The media played a big role in influencing the U.S. public opinion. The media's opinion became the "real facts" which made many people believe what they were saying. The media imediately put the fault on Spain and made Spain become the "bad guy". Since many Americans were affected by this they also were easily confused about the truth. Well when the truth finally came out, that the explosion was an accident on the ship, it was too late. The U.S. Congress already declareed war over Spain and won.

The results of what the short war affected were different for 3 islands. First Cuba, who this all started for, won it's independence from Spain to loose it the U.S. The U.S. was right to help and improve the country but to control it was wrong. So for Cuba it was unjust. The foriegn policy on Puerto Rico was worse. Puerto Rico was a treaty gift to the U.S. from Spain that ended the war. Spain really didn't have to give the U.S. anything . The U.S. took over Puerto Rico and pretty much destroyed the island making it unjust. The foriegn policy on Dominican Republic was the kindest and most helpful in my opinion. The U.S. helped DR become less comfused, disordered, and helped pay off the many debts that DR owed many countries. The U.S. prety much taught and guided DR to be a country and run it's own government. The U.S. fixed DR and this so far was the best foriegn policy used by the U.S. which is just.

So overall I think that the Spanish-American War was an unjust war. The reason the U.S. got involved wasn't completely supported. There was too much confusion and unfair misunderstandings with the countries. Even though some actions were just and a few things improved, I don't think this was worth a war. For many qualities of this war and because of the facts, in my opinion I would say that the Spanish-American War was and is an unjust war.

Was The Spanish American War A "Just" War?

Of all the wars that happened, specifically which one of these wars are a "just" war. Why do we have wars? The Spanish American War was a really powerful war that changed the world forever. The war started by the United States sending the U.S.S Maine to Cuba to protect the U.S interests in Cuba. On February 15, 1898, the U.S.S Maine suddenly exploded, killing over 260 servicemen Because of that, McKinley declared war on Spain on April 21, 1898. Was this war considered a "just war?"

First of all, I think a "just" war is if you want a war, you have to prove why a war is needed. Even if you have a strong feeling that you might win, you can't attack a place or country for no apparent reason. If you do, only attack the country you want to attack. Not the country surroundings. If a war is declared, it has to be fair between two or more countries. Personally, I think The Spanish American War is not a "just" war because McKinley declared war on Spain. Spain didn't want war because they knew it wasn't their fault that the U.S.S Maine exploded. Americans wanted war because they thought it was Spain who bombed the U.S.S Maine. McKinley declared war because Spain caused many Cuban deaths. He also wanted all the problems occurring in Cuba to end and to have peaceful trades between U.S & Cuba and other countries, again. The Imperialists argument against the Spanish American War was Senator Beveridge think God prepared us. God made certain people mastering organizers to create a system in an area of pandemonium . He made us have a stable government, where Americans attain new territories and people treated them bad. Beveridge believed that if it wasn't for god, the world would've collapsed. Alfred believes that many countries needs Americans to think beyond and to think of better skills or techniques, so their power can influence other parts of the world. If Americans don't look outward, than they will collapse. The Anti-Imperialist arguments states that other countries dislike America's way of living. If America believes in Liberty, why don't we maintain it. Why do we have to interfere with other parts of the world business. Like, overthrowing Hawaii's government. What was the point of that? To start more problems? Like, how the Spanish-American War got started? By misunderstood facts! Also U.S should release freedom to blacks!

I think U.S Foreign Policy toward Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic was mostly either Imperialism and Internationalism. I think the U.S foreign policy toward the three nations was justified and not justified. U.S did do the right thing to help Cuba. But, the U.S went to far and they were putting a lot of laws on Cuba. Like the Platt Amendment Cuba have to follow. Cuba won their independence from Spain and now they want their independence from U.S. For Puerto Rico, it's quite similar to Cuba, but a lot more worse. The U.S passed many acts that harmed Puerto Rico. Like the Foraker Act in 1900 and The Jone Act in 1917. Also, U.S owned most of the stuff in Puerto Rico. Like, the P.R public utilities & banking industries, the tobacco plants, the sugar industry, and all overseas shipping The U.S forced the farmers to sell their lands, if they don't, they were paid extremely low for their sugar canes. After 3- years of U.S ruling P.R, living conditions were nasty, lamentable, atrocious, and many issues with diseases. However, for Dominican Republic, it's slightly better. D.R owed many money to many countries. Even to the U.S. When it was clear that D.R couldn't pay it's debts, U.S President, Theodore Roosevelt, offered to help. He paid off some of D.R's debts. After 2 years, D.R's foreign debts were paid. U.S kind of took control over D.R and helped them at the same time.

To briefly summarize, I think The Spanish-American War was not an "just" war because the explosion of the U.S.S Maine was an accident. After The Spanish-American War, the three nations were left in a total mess. If it wasn't for the U.S....Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Dominican Republic won't be where they are, today.

Summary of Article # 2 - Soda: A Sin We Sip Instead of Smoke?

According to the New York times, the article i read was about how President Obama wants to add tax to buying soda because soda is like a addiction, similar to tobacco, smoking, drinking, and etc. Drinking soda can affect your health a lot. When you drink about more than 50 gallons of soda a year you can have a chance in getting diabetes.
The author's purpose in writing this article is to convince kids to not drink a lot of soda because some kids don't know how much damage drinking a lot of soda will do to your body and the kind of disease it can get you.
I actually think this article was stunning. I didn't know President Obama wants whoever buys soda to pay tax. I knew drinking a lot of soda can get you fat but i don't know it can get u diabetes. I also know that soda contains a lot of sugar, but I'm curious what makes the soda bubbly and will explode when you shake it. This articles makes me think of candy. If you eat too much candy, humans can also get diabetes because it also contains many sugar. I wonder if the industries who produced the soda, also drinks it because they might know how much sugar they put in their product. If I was them i would put warning labels like what President Obama wants to do. Humans health is the most important thing to me in this world. Theirs a lot of sodas but only one of you. So if I was you people who drinks or eats lots of candy right now, I'll stop. Before it damages your body even more.

Summary of Article # 1 -Six Meaningless Claims on Food Labels

According to the New York times, the article I read was about how marketers create or make food sound healthy and not fattening. The ingredients of a certain food product sometimes aren't true. The food product might say "real cheese" but it's actually not real cheese. They use unhealthy stuff than can make the person who eats it, health bad. Also sometimes they lie about how little sugar they put in a certain food product, which they actually put more than they listed on the nutrition label.
What I think the author's purpose is for writing this article is to tell people that the food they eat aren't really what they expect. The information listed on the food product are fake. The producers make fake labels so people can think the food actually contains the information listed on the labels. Which they don't. Also the author want to tell us that the ingredients in the food product are not made from real food but fake. They combine certain ingredients to make it look like it was from the real food product.
When I read this article I was flabbergasted because they use fake ingredients to make a food product. What if someone need's more fiber in their body, and if they eat a food product that says it has a lot of fiber which the fiber isn't real it can even damage their health even more! This article just makes me melancholy because our human race are just eating fake stuff and not real. But it's not entirely fake, but most of it is.

Response to Food Inc.

I learned a lot of things from Food Inc. that disgusted me and surprised me at the same time. A part of Food Inc. that disgusted me was how the owners of the chickens don't clean the chickens and how they sell sick chickens for people to eat. Isn't that extremely disgusting? It just makes me not wanting to eat meat anymore because I might get a disease from eating sick chickens. I also hate being sick.
Some parts of Food Inc. that surprised me is how the owners of the animals feed their animals corn. F0r example, cows are suppose to eat grass, but instead they eat corn. Which they can get E.coli and when we humans eat a meat with E.coli, we have a chance of dying. The reason farmers give their animals corn is because the animals grow faster when they eat corn. S0 the farmers can earn more money faster by selling it faster. Rather than feeding it grass, which will take the cow longer to grow and it wastes your time that you can be selling the chicken when u feed it corn. I think the farmers are being extremely selfish. They just care about themselves and not other people's health. This just makes me wanting to smash their head with a chicken! Another part of Food Inc. that surprised me is how a bunch of cows are all crowded together in a small amount of space. I wonder do the cows sleep while standing up because theirs barely enough space for the cows to even move!
I think the important question of Food Inc. is "Whose job is it to make sure our food is safe?" People say it's the government's job to make sure our food is safe because they still give subsidies to companies that produce dirty or unhealthy meat that an cause death when you eat it. Some people say it's the industries job to make sure our food is safe because they produce the product. They have to make sure the meat or food is 100% safe before it can be sold out! Some people say it's our job to make sure our food is safe because we would've not cooked the food long enough that certain part of the food, like meat, can be red. Some people say it's our parents job to make sure our food is safe because they purchase the item and they have to look at the item to see if it looks unusual and if it does than tell someone that works in the store your buying the meat at. Overall, it's all about luck! What i mean about luck is that you have to be LUCKY to not buy or eat a piece of meat or food that has E.coli in it, that when u eat it you can die from it.
Food Inc. impacted me quite a lot in many ways. I feel like being a vegetarian, like everyone else when they watched this film because it disgusts you out a lot! I feel bad for the animals. Their being slaughtered for the reason. If only more people argue about this issue, industries might treat their animals more better than they do now and the price might be the same. But do you think that will ever happen?

FOOD INC.

In my class we watched a documentary called Food Inc. It was pretty much about what's in some of our food and how it's made. For short, be careful what you eat. What I think Food Inc. is trying to say is that a lot of companies that sell cheap products are not always the best or healthiest choice of food to choose from. Also consumers aren't being protected enough by the government from industries and producers. I agree with this message but not completely. I agree because of Kevin's Law. The government did not do anything about the industry that produced the food that lead to a child's death. Also the sicknesses like E.coli that killed the child within 12 days, that the government is letting the industries go with. The government doesn't show any interest or care. The government should take more responsibility instead of just giving subsides that encourage industries to overgrow and let outbreaks spread. The government should take more action and do something. If the people that make and protect this food don't think it's right then no one else will. If industries want to sell affordable food and make good money then they should do it right and not dangerous.
In my opinion if industries/companies advertise more healthier and cheap smart choice foods then consumers would feel better and more confident about their foods. Maybe it won't make a difference for a lot of people but at the same time a lot of people would try to be different about their foods. So if the people that make this product don't treat their own product right and it's known more then the consumers most likely won't eat the product since it's not trusted.
If all this unhealthy food is sold then the whole country will be unhealthy and sick. If the whole country is sick and unhealthy then less people would be able to buy food. Instead of the government/industries bribing and encouraging citizens to buy unhealthy affordable food they should encourage citizens to purchase healthy and helpful foods that are cheap. Also it wouldn't hurt if industries put the price on some healthy foods lower. A lot of people have schedules or situations that they can't always bother with healthy foods. This leads them to unhealthy choices. But that's partly because industries don't take care of their products. I don't agree with that you should know about every detail of your food and over worry about meat. I don't agree because a lot of people have been eating meat until now and it hasn't had a huge affect. Also it's not like every piece is contaminated. Now it's not that all companies are now discusting, unhealthy, and a discrace it's just that it's better to know more about your food to just be sure and safer. This probably won't be a huge issue or deal for a lot of people but at the same time for alot of people this is a risk or challenge. They just have to settle with what's available at the time. Just think to yourself next time, do you really want this?

Response to Haiti

I feel terrible for Haiti! The reason I feel extremely terrible for Haiti is because they got struck by a strong earthquake which the level of the magnitude was 7.0(which is very strong.)
A lot of buildings got knocked down including the hospital, schools, restaurants, stores, The President House, and etc. Can you believe it? That's sad! Many, many people were killed and dead bodies are lying on the streets. People who are still alive are trying to find food and shelter for survival. Haiti was already poor before the earthquake. Now since the earthquake happened, they have nothing left. The earthquake destroyed everything around them. Depressing, right? I hope Haiti will be better sooner or later! :[

Civil Rights Issues Today (Con'd)

Today, people do not want blacks and whites to marry. According to some texts, In 1967 the case Loving vs. Virginia said "under our constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the State." People claim it's not racist. It's just they don't think it's right. They want one race to marry their own race. For example, Blacks marry Blacks, Asians marry Asians.
Also, In integrated schools, blacks and whites decides to segregate themselves from each other. There were very little groups of friends of whites and blacks. For example, at the lunchroom, blacks sit on one table while whites sit on the other. Also in AP classes most of the people in there are white and only 3 blacks. The 3 blacks decided to sit next to each other in the front. In classes that needs improvement, mostly blacks are in it and barely any whites.
In my opinion, this needs to change. Even though blacks and whites are not harming each other, they need to learn how to get along and how great it is for blacks and whites to be friends.

Civil Rights Issues Today

In my opinion I think that for the most part America has become less segregated. In two high schools so far segregation is still not solved. Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas is in a way integrated. Different races attend the school but right away you could see that the students are separate. In the classes, the Black kids sit on one side and the White kids on the other. During their lunch period, the White kids ate outside and the Black kids ate inside. Also in the A.P., class there were only three Black girls and the rest were White kids. Most of the kids that need extra help were Black males. Recently a school in Montgomery, Alabama named County High School had a completely segregated prom. One night, on a Friday, the White kids had their prom first. The next night, on Saturday, the Black kids had their prom. I guess that basically it's improving little by little but there is still a long way before the South completely shows that they are not segregated, if they haven't accepted it yet.

Timeline Relationship Summary

It all started when The American Civil War ended and the Union also known as the North won. This led to the Reconstruction ,which atempted to reunite the country but the South did not want to agree with the North. Around this time the 13th 14th and 15th amendments were passed. These amendments stated that for every citizens there was no more slavery. Everyone had the right to vote and no one can take away your as an American. The South did not like the new laws so they found a way to get around them and invented the Jim Crow laws that separated people by race. Later on, there was a case called "Plessy V. Ferguson" where Plessy was accused for sitting in the white passenger car when he was black. He didn't want to move so he got arrested. He use the 14th Amendment to defend himself. At the end of the case, the judges decided that separate but equal didn't violate the constitution.
Later on Brown vs. Board of Education argued that separate was not equal. Because of this, some schools like Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas decided to integrate. 17 students were chosen to attend Central High School but only 9 students were enrolled. During the 1950's through 1970's things were getting worse as time passed. Martin Luther King Jr. called for whoever wanted to accompany him in the march that he lead in Birmingham, Alabama. Mostly kids came and marched around, protested, and sung the song "freedom". This was called the Children's March of 1963.

Timeline: Reconstruction-Today.

1865: Civil War ended. This war was between the Union and the Confederacy to free slaves. The Union won.
1865-1965: Jim Crow Laws. These were laws that kept people separate by race.
1865-1880: Reconstruction; Reconstruction tried to reunite The North and The South, put the country back together. 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments were added to the Constitution.
13th Amendment-No more Slavery.
14th Amendment-If your a citizen no one can take your rights away.
15th Amendment-Every race or color will be able to vote.
1892-1896: Plessy vs. Ferguson case. Argued that separate was equal.
1949: Texas was forced to integrate it's law schools.
1950-1970: The highest peak of The Civil Rights Movement. This is when most action was taken and when the Civil Rights Movement was most affective.
1954: Brown vs. Board of Education in Topeka, Kansas and went to the Supreme Court. Argued that separate is NOT equal.
1957: Seventeen African American students were selected to attend Central High School. After a meeting with the superintendent, only nine students decided to enroll. They were known as the "Little Rock Nine."
1963: Children's March in Birmingham, Alabama. This march was made of mostly Black children that wanted freedom and equality.
1971-2009: Montgomery, Alabama County High School has held segregated proms since they integrated.
2009: Central High School is segregated by preference and habit not by force or racism. They decide to segregate themselves.

The Achievement Gap Response (Con'd)

The statistic that surprised me the most in The Achievement Gap is Black and Latino kids are 2-3 times more likely to have below basic skills in reading and math. I wonder why couldn't they be like Whites and Asians? What do we have that they don't? What this makes me think about is that Blacks and Latino might not be as focus as White and Asians in school probably because of their surroundings at home or they aren't being treated well by there parents. There parents might not be pushing them at school and just letting the Blacks or Latino kids do whatever they want. Like they can play games or watch T.V or hang out with their friends after school and their parents might not care. Some might but they won't be as strict as whites and Asians parents about homework. But in my opinion, I don't think this is truth because we all have the same brain.

The Achievement Gap Response

My response to The Achievement Gap is that I doubt some things. Like the statistic that said that high school graduates live up to 7 years longer than high school dropouts. To me that's kind of exaggerating. For some cases it could be because people make certain decisions like becoming drug addicts, or being involved in illegal activities, instead of changing and becoming better, for a comfortable future. It makes me wonder why choose wrong if you know the consequences and are taking a risk of a worse future.