Bryan's "Don't Mind The Haters" Response

In response to Bryan Walters' "Don't Mind The Haters," I totally agree with his statement that it was not a big deal to have a White House conference on Obama's birth certificate. There are much more problems that the United States faces rather than some stupid conspiracy Donald Trump rumored. If Obama were not born in America, then how did he ever become president in the first place? In order to be president there is a requirement of being born in the U.S. Donald Trump is just trolling on Obama! This should have not even been a discussion because it was irrelevant. In my opinion Donald Trump probably started this rumor because of his "interest" in becoming President in 2012. President Obama should focus more on problems in the countries right now, and not meddling with celebrities.

American's Problem: Obesity

Obesity is the number one public health risk America (“Obesity Is Public Health Concern“). As stated in the movie “Super Size Me,“ which is a highly known documentary about what fast food can do to one’s body, America is said to be the fattest nation in the world. Yet individuals who became obese from fast food restaurants blame them for the cause of their weight. The cause of obesity is not the fast food restaurant‘s fault, but the individuals who consume it everyday.  The individuals are responsible for their weight because they know that fast food is high in fat and oils, but still choose to eat it daily. This world is full of ignorant people that  just want to have somebody else to blame their problems for, but in reality, it is them and no one else. Nearly one hundred million Americans today are considered either overweight or obese, which is more than 60 percent of all adults in the United States. If Americans continue to eat like this, there is no telling what will happen to our population and the serious health risks that will occur. Most Americans today have no self control when it comes to their eating habit. It is simply because they have no time to cook, fast food is inexpensive, or just the fact the they are lazy, hence the name “lazy/stupid American,” for all of the crap they consume. Restaurants need to have more healthy meal, though we shouldn’t go out to eat a healthy meal when we can do it at home. America needs to put on their Nikes and get down to business. A simple walk around the park or 20 minute work out is all that is needed for us to become a slimmer, and healthier person.

We Need To Try Harder: Response

In response to Bryan's article " We Need To Try Harder," I couldn’t agree more with his post because I too argue in my last post on the same thing. I know exactly what you are talking about when I walked the stage with kids who did not deserve to walk at all. High school these days are way too lenient and lazy. I share the same view that “teaching should be more of an elite profession,” as all of my teachers in high school were just a bunch of ignorant coaches who cared about nothing, other than football or whatever. Our school really do need more qualified teachers to educate our students, so that they are more prepared for the real world. If we had more experience teachers, we would probably not have as many drop out as we do now. We need highly qualified individuals that will not only teach our students but also motivate them to a higher expectation. Though we do need more qualify teachers, our schools also need more funding and resources for our kids to succeed. Our kids will need to be prepared for the life ahead of them, and filling in the blank word sheets are not going to cut it. Just as you stated, “children are the future of our great country.”

America, You Have No Discipline When it Comes to Education

We need to turn our attentions to one of America’s most important problem, our poor educational system. America’s education system is going down the drain these days due to the fact that we have inexperience teachers and no discipline. It is said that the higher the parent’s income than the more likely their child will succeed and that lower-income students are more likely to drop out because, they were not adequately prepared (Yglesias). The low income families are likely to live in a poorer neighborhood and their kids are having to go to a poor and low performing school, unless the parents care and are smart enough to transfer them to a higher ranking school using the transfer system. Low income students in danger for staying motivated, having self-discipline, and performing well in school. Though it will take much more than just taxing the rich and using money to benefit our education. Our main problem are the inexperienced teachers we are hiring. We need to stop letting all of our coaches teach class and hire experience individuals who have an education in teaching. Teaching should not just be a job that any one can do, it should be for the ones who qualify for that degree. If we were to hire more qualified teachers to teach our students, America would not have as many drop outs as we do now. We need teachers who will not just teach our students, but motivate them to a higher expectation. There is nothing more critical to America’s future than our education. Our economic power is determined by many factors, but education is the most important.

School Performances

In response to “To stop exodus, upgrade school,” the author tells us how many students have been transferring from their low performing school to a higher one. Thanks to a generous transfer policy, parents are allowed to transfer their kid into any school for any reason, as long as the school is not already full. He says “Don’t like your neighborhood? No problem. Get a transfer to another one..” meaning, if parents are not satisfy with their current school’s performance, then they can just transfer to a school of their comfort. Though this may seem good for you, the schools on the other hand with suffer. By transferring your kid to a better school, this creates an imbalance between schools. The author says that students should not be stuck in a failing school because of their “geographic boundaries.” This is where the transfer policy comes in, it allows student to transfer to a higher ranking campus. The main problem are the many school’s lack of quality to students in those areas. It is said that students living in the West have a higher performance than to those living in the East. A school’s low performance is causing parents to transfer their kids, even if that means they have to drive across town, at their own expenses. Some East Austin school that are losing their students are threatened to closure, due to their inexperience and performance. Superintendent Meria Carstarphen has a solution into fixing the schools. She has a plan that covers about 35 East Austin Schools, hoping to strengthen early childhood education for college preparation. This plan will not force parents to transfer their kids to another school. The author focuses on how school should be fixed to be on the same level as other schools. I agree with the author that he argues by fixing the problem, we would have to fix the schools, but he is missing one thing. The teachers. They should focus on improving the teachers for those schools. The characteristics and experience of teachers will make a big difference. If East Austin schools were to recruit to teachers with higher experience and education, then the schools would not lag behind the other schools. In the end, author’s argument was somewhat valid, he covered many true things but forgot a few.

Texts, Sexts, What's Next?

In responses to “Give parents, authorities, teens tools to deal with sexting,” the author explains the soon possibility of a new law, charging teens who “sexts” with a Class C up to a Class A misdemeanor, and that parents too would be held responsible. Proposed by Senator Kirk Watson, this law could ruin a teen’s life with a Class A misdemeanor. Meaning that they could spend a year in jail or a $4000 fine. If teens were sent to jail for a year, they are more likely, or will have to drop out of school. Parents would be responsible by having to participate in some educational program with their teen, which they are likely to pay legal fees for. As stated in the article, “If the legislature does pass the bill, it is important to get to the world that sexting carries consequences,” I for one agree with that statement, but I do not agree with the consequences it carries. They are giving the same charges to teens as they would do to an adult, which is too harsh on them, and is not fair. Yes, this world is full of ignorant teens that are too immature to understand their actions and should be punished, but should not face any jail time. It would ruin their lives and education. I agree with the authors argument when he says “we should not treat teens as we treat adult caught with pornography.” Teens should be given a more gentle consequence, such as a simple fine. The author also points out that the legislature should give teens and adults a separate charge, which I highly agree with.

Smokin' Hospitals

In A.G. Sulzberger’s “Hospitals Shift Smoking Bans to Smoker Ban,” Sulzberger explains how hospitals and medical businesses are adopting a policy to refuse smokers of a job. Hospitals says that “smoking is a reason to turn away a job applicant.” They imagine that hiring non-smokers would increase worker productivity and reduce health care costs. It is said that applications will have a warning of  “tobacco-free hiring,” and that those applicants will receive a drug test for nicotine, or they will be terminated. I for one oppose this policy. Yes it may have some advantages of having more work done, or a healthier environment, but it restricting many people from getting a job. Lets say someone went to medical school, hoping to earn his or her degree into becoming a doctor or nurse, but is a smoker. If they were to graduate, they should not be turned down a job because of a habit due to past mistakes. Smoking is not easily given up on, it is a very hard habit to quit. If more places were to ban smokers, almost half of the adult population would be jobless and in poverty.