Humans and the Environment

         “We are now the dominant feature of our own environment” (Thomas 916). Lewis Thomas argues the affect of humans on the environment and the implications associated with humans' influence in nature. 

         Humans are starting to completely take over the environment that we live in. Yes, it is an environment that we, as people, live in and develop through our influence. However, it is also an environment in which several other species of plants and animals live in and are trying to survive and maintain their roles in nature as well. In our world today, the environment has suffered various times because of people's carelessness towards the nature around them. When an individual decides to litter plastic, for example, away instead of recycling it, it goes straight into the environment, harming an animal that happens to come across it. It is in humans' decisions and mindsets that our planet survives with everything healthy in it. When humans do not respect the other species that are equally as important to the world, the environment starts to lose its sense of compatibility, strength, and health. As nature used to be thought of as a beautiful representation of our world and all of the incredible elements of it, it is now completely changed by humans and is shown through the destruction of the environment and what it has become. With the influence of humans, we have affected the environment tremendously to the point where the purpose of nature and the environment around us has changed to become a demonstration of what people have done to the beauty that was once our world. We need to start taking more positive actions now, as a society, in order to save the future and environment. 

Teacher and Student Dialogue by: Claire and Alexandra

“Okay class, time for the announcement of student of the year award! So, the best student in our class is Amy with a grade of 100.2% overall.”

“What?! I had a 100.199%. I am declaring that I am the best. I write so much better than her and she gets the award just because of her grade being .001% higher than me? ”

“Yeah...but I put a comma in this sentence and you didn’t, so therefore I should be and am the best writer.”

“Yes, there must only be one winner and between you two students, the obvious choice is Amy”

“This is not acceptable, I have taken just as many classes as her, studied just as hard, if not harder, and have turned in every single assignment on time- all with perfect attendance!”

“Listen, this is how it has and always will be with no acception to the rules and regulations of this award. What is the big deal with it anyways?”

“It means that I’m not the best and I’m not going to be accepted into any schools, let alone get my diploma!”

“Sarah, this is not the end of the world and you will be accepted into college, I’m sure of it.”

“Well, how can I be accepted to any college if I can’t even get a higher grade than Amy when it’s obvious that I deserve it. I do not think my parents will be happy when they hear this outrageous decision you have made.”

“I have no control over any of your parents reactions and thoughts about your academics. That’s just the way life goes.”

“I have wanted this award for my whole life and up until now, I have been doing everything I can to earn it. I have taken extra AP and core classes to get up to the top in order to build myself up for success. If I had not done that, I would’ve been in the regular, easy Algebra 2 class just sitting there waiting for the other kids to catch up to me. With that being said, I’m gonna go straight home and tell my parents of this tragic and unnecessary action that was taken against me and my outstanding grades all because they weren’t 'good enough'."

The next day…

“My parents and I have made an executive decision to sue you, Ms. Rosey, and the rest of the school board. My parents agree with me, that I am a student who works exceptionally hard and I deserve this spot over any of the other students.”

“And how are you going to do that Sarah?”

“I will talk to my lawyer who will definitely agree to my requests when I explain this situation and the unfair consequences it has caused me and my academic future. I’ll be seeing you in court soon Ms. Rosey, and you better come prepared with clear evidence to back up yourself and the school board.”

Types of Englishes

       In my life, I only speak English as my main language that I use everyday. Although I speak one language, my speech differs throughout various situations each day. When I am speaking with my friends for example, it is very casual and colloquial language. I do not need to worry about being formal or sophisticated. In other words, I speak how I normally speak in conversation which comes from my comfort level with the people I am around. If I am in a group of unfamiliar or new people, I will often stay quieter and more reserved in my tone and voice. This reveals that tone affects the way that one understands what you are saying and how you want others to interpret you. Another instance of more informal language would be when I am texting with other people on my phone. Again, with my friends, it is very informal and I, as other teenagers do, use shortcuts and slang when typing certain words or phrases. Even though we type out words that are usually spelled 'you' as 'u' for a shortcut, we would never write it like that in English class or even in any form of writing that is done on paper. In other cases, when talking to a teacher or well respected adult, I speak very formally and different from how I would speak with friends or close family. I try to use all correct grammar and my language is much more sophisticated in order to generate a good reputation and demonstrate respect. I often use more formal language when the audience is something different than my peers due to the change in atmosphere and topics of discussion, to a more serious one.
       The different "Englishes" I speak give me power as an individual and are important in my everyday life in different situations. When one has the ability to switch from one way of speaking to another in any type of environment, it is a very empowering skill to have. Looking at my life, I feel like I am able to judge the situation I am in by the group of people around me and the number of people I am with in order to depict which type of "English" I will speak in. Based on different factors, choosing the right way to speak in a situation is a powerful way to directly articulate what is trying to be said and it a better way to improve how different ideas are understood as an individual in everyday life.      

Metacognitive Reflection

     Over the course of this semester, I have seen growth in different areas of my writing due to all of the practice we have done. I have seen a large amount of improvement with my writing style and the techniques I have used. This is mainly from the blog posts we have done, which allows me to write in a different style for each post. Through my quickwrites, I am able to practice the language devices we have learned about and practice embedding my quotes smoothly into my writing. I have seen myself grow in my range of vocabulary and voice to a more sophisticated and formal one. I have also seen improvements in my use of examples and focusing on connecting my points back to thesis. Through the writing process, I have increased the amount of revision and editing I do, along with peer editing. I find peer revision to help me the most because it gives my writing a new set of eyes to look over it and find mistakes that I may have missed. Also, since it is from a different perspective, there are always new ideas and thoughts that can be added to my writing. By taking more time on my writing and thinking deeper into the meaning of the texts, I have seen improvements in my analysis, compared to how it was last year. However, I still think my analysis needs to be improved, by going even deeper into the piece and analyzing beyond the text into the real world implications. Also, another aspect of my writing that I think I can still improve on is the way in which I condense my thoughts and make concise arguments, rather than long and complicated ones. This will make my analysis more specific and straightforward to understand it better. I plan to accomplish this by making writing conferences with Ms. Nagi. I think this will help me and I wish that I would’ve scheduled some during the first semester, as I think it would have helped me with my analysis. I think one of my proudest assignments was the Gatsby test short answer because I since it was one of the most recent ones we have done, it has reflected more accurately my growth over the semester. It demonstrates my growth of a greater understanding of the topic we have been discussing, The American Dream, as well as shows my improvements in developing my argument and purpose with effective quotes. In the future, I would like to focus on working more one-on-one with Ms. Nagi through conferences to help my writing skills. I think this will allow me to understand more about what she wants to see from me and will help me to get higher scores through more corrections and a better understanding. 

Letter to Jim

Dear Jim,

    

     Hello Jim. How are you doing? I just wanted to write to you an' explain myself a little. I know you mus' be thinkin' that I'm a bad friend and that I had no right to run away frim you. But, it was just all too much! With Miss Watson always doin' bad stuff and then findin' out that my very own pap was dead way back when we found that house with the dead man in it, I jus' knew it was my time to leave this awful place. Also, remember Aunt Sally? She wanted to take me in and sivilize me. And I can't do that no more. So, that is why I ran away. I got to a thinking, Jim, come with me! You are my only friend, besides Tom Sawyer, that I can travel with. You keeped me good company and I loved all a our adventures. I've got to athinking more and I realised that people are telling me lies. You are more than just a runway slave and you are my very good friend. Why have Miss Watson and the Widow teached me that, if it is not truth? Remember when I used to play those funny pranks on you? Well, I now see that those hurts you and I'm so sorry Jim. After seeing your reacting to them, "I most wished I was dead." I hope you will forgive me for all that. I have so many questions, Jim, please come along with me. I'm down headed for the Indian Territory but I have stopped a while to wait if you are going a come. I don't reckon I can go on without you by my side, Jim. I'll be waiting.

From your good friend, Huck

P.S. Here's a map of where you'll find me. As soon as you reach the first state of Indian Territory going west, that's where I'll be.

Liberty and Freedom in America

The concepts of liberty and freedom have drastically changed their definitions over time. They used to be used interchangeably in society, however, now they are two separate terms that mean different things. How did this come to be? In the process of this change, many events and realizations had to occur in order to create the difference. For instance, African Americans becoming enslaved and being forced to work against their will, demonstrates how difficult it was to gain freedom. It was not just automatically earned for some groups of people, it instead had to be earned or fought for. For others, however, it was a right they were born into and did not have to work for it. How does this seem fair to all Americans who are supposed to have equal rights? 

In the TED talk, it discussed the hardships he faced during his childhood as a Japanese American, with very obvious unfair punishments. He even goes on to explain how when him and his family were finally released from the internment camps, he asked his parents "when are we going home?" because, to him, as a child, whatever came to mind when the idea of home was presented, went to the camps because that was the only "home" he was ever exposed to that he could remember. This sad and tragic narrative of his life brings the audience to the realization that America is not always faithful to the core values that it once had. When looking at different races, this is the break in which freedom and liberty comes to. Going back to the African Americans that were forced into slavery, it displays the tireless work they were forced to do everyday without having any basic rights or will to do what they desire for themselves. When African Americans became free from slavery, that is when they earned their basic freedom that they should be able to have living in America. In similar terms, this is the same for when the Japanese Americans were released from internment camps, they gained more of what it was like to have freedom in America. 

Liberty has a less general meaning that is more orderly, relating to political life in America. In the end, liberty and freedom are related because the political part of our nation is very prominent in terms of order and structure in society. It connects to our basic freedom and represents how they should both be equally as important in America because of the past that we have had as a nation and the change it proposes to improve those unfortunate events. As a society in this generation, it is our job to emphasize the importance of freedom and liberty, as it should not be forgotten, in order to improve America as a whole and all of the people living in it. 

From a Different Perspective

 

     That Abigail is crazy and I do not know what she is thinking. Our entire relationship and affair was a mistake and I wish I could go back in time and avoid it. Time and time again, she somehow always ends up in the same place I am at the same time... It's like she is following me! I make it clear, at least I think I do, that I do not want to have any relationship with that witch again and that she needs to leave me alone. I know for a fact that Abigail's perseverance to talk to me has weakened my relationship with my wife and she is always very suspicious about everything I do or say. Despite the countless times I tell her that nothing is happening and that everything between me and Abigail is over, she still doesn't trust me. And who would? I very clearly was not a good husband to her around that time and ever since; it is as if our love has burned out, like a candle on a windy night. Nevertheless, I say to her, "I think your sad again. Are you?" (59) and from there we start one of our many daily fights and arguments. All I am asking of her is to give me a second chance to prove to her that I am a changed person who still loves her. 

      The witch-hunt is continuing right now, I can hear it outside. I hear voices, some confessing to the work of the Devil, some choosing to sin and hide their involvement. I can also hear Abigail's voice, which is blaming Tituba of the witchcraft she had been doing in the forest a couple nights ago. I find that very hard to believe and I think the opposite. With Abigail's egotistical, accusatory, and dishonest attitude, no one should believe that Tituba was the one who forced the girls into witchcraft if it was coming from Abigail. She is the leading force of this unnecessary hysteria in Salem. If it weren't for her impulsive act of dancing and practicing witchcraft in the forest, it would be the same peaceful and orderly town of Salem that everyone once knew and loved. I plan on discussing different options to calm the town down and put this nonsense to an end with my dear friend, John Hale. Hopefully he can help me, since he shares the same hatred towards witchcraft that I do. If he can't, however, I will be leaving Salem and traveling across country, for I cannot stand to be in this psychotic place for one minute longer.