Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Exploration 8


If you click the following link and scroll down, just below the text there is a video that provides some facts about the current drug issues with Mexico and the US.

Illegal drugs have become a major export for Mexico.  The cartels use their money, power, and brutality to ensure that they will get away with their crimes.  With all of the violence related to the drug war, Mexican citizens live in fear.  They never know if or when they might be kidnapped, extorted, or killed.  Death rates are astonishingly high. 
A good source for information about this situation is the following link.

Up to page 105, I think the most memorable scene in The Road is the scene where the man and his wife are discussing their opinions on suicide.  It is horrible to think that the world could become so terrible that suicide seems a reasonable solution.  This scene also shows the man’s will to survive and find a better life for the boy.  This is a major theme that carries throughout the book.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Essay two



         Essay two, I did my paper on Abdi Jama.Abdi Jama is a very prominent business man in Columbus, Ohio. He owns few businesses, he a consultant. Abdi when through a lot of hard time during he childhood. 

         My name is Abdi Jama. I was born March 8, 1979 in Mogadishu, Somali. About my story am a dreamer. Family life as growing up it was actually we where middle class family back where we came from Somalia. We had very decent life style. We weren’t the riches but at same time we weren’t the poorest it was middle class. But my childhood was interrupted by a tragedy situation that happen in my home land do to civil war. So Growing up, so I actually seen a lot of violence and that it sort of become part of my life it became the norm do to the condition the environment that we were in. I have not actually witness a gun fighting and have been exchange to different sides but I have seen the casualties of many people who had shed tears. We were forced to take the belongings what we could from our residents. We took very limits items, just maybe small items of money that we had at that time. We left every single thing that we had one day. After the fight continues couples years later we ended up at refugee camp, little girl born at the refugee camp unfortunately here we are don’t know what to do because we are running away from the militia military.

I picked this paragraph because he talks about how hard it was for him during civil war.

Monday, May 28, 2012

essay two




SEYMOUR ALLEYNE
SOCCOR COACH/ HEAD DIRECTOR of Santos FC
                 I enjoyed doing my interview with couch Seymour. what I had in mind before was; when I hear the word ‘interview’ the first thing that comes up to my mind is ‘job interview’ where you spend your time talking about your previous job experiences and how you are hard worker and so on. Unfortunately this interview was a whole different experience for me and it was also a great opportunity for me to have a conversation with this interesting person, Mr. Seymour. Seymour and I have many things in common, we both love the game of soccer in terms of playing, watching and talking about soccer except he couches soccer for living and I’m not. Since we both have a similar interest and hobby our interview turned out to be more exciting and we have agreed upon many things.  I learned that writing out the transcript for the interview is harder than doing the interview itself.

 “My interest is soccer, I played soccer as a kid, I played in college, I played some pro level and now I coach for a living. So my interest is helping the kids and passing on what I know about the game, for me it’s not about winning or losing but it’s the love for the game, so I try to pass that on. If I can help kids from low income neighborhoods, then I will love to do that, it’s tough because the kids in American from the low income neighborhoods, they really interested in basketball and American football pretty much. So soccer is a hard cell, but the good thing about soccer is that you don’t have to be certain size to play, and as you know the best players in the world, Lionel Messi is like 5,5 or 5,6 height’ it’s all about his skills and his intelligence. So a lot of the kids who aren’t 6,2 6,5 or 250 lbs that even can’t play basketball or those whose smaller it’s easier fit for them to come and play soccer. So that’s what I do and interested in “I live, breathe, eat soccer” Laughs, if I am not playing it, I am coaching it. Because of the high level that I play at and because I can play the game, I’m good at this game, as we get older you can’t play anymore, so the fun for me and the motivation for me is to be able to see kids play, and with a certain potential and I can get them better, I can get them to another level.”

I picked out this specific paragraph because Seymour explained to me what soccer is all about and how his interest and passionate for soccer helped him pass on his experience to today’s generation.  

Exploration 8

http://www.cato.org/publications/economic-development-bulletin/mexicos-failed-drug-war

Part One: The drug war in Mexico is affecting its citizens in more ways than one. Not only is there major increases in violence and innocent deaths, "In 2007, approximately 2,500 Mexicans lost their lives in DTO (Drug Trafficking Organizations) related violence. As of July 2008, the death toll was 2,000, on track to exceed 4,000 by the end of the year." ,but also there were increased tensions between the U.S. and Mexico making their normal lives difficult as well because of more stress on politics.

Part Two: The most striking part of "The Road" to me was when the two were going to sleep and they had this conversation: "And then later in the darkness: Can I ask you something? Yes. Of course you can. What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you. Okay."  This passage really shows the closeness and love between the father and son while trying to survive by themselves.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Link to short story for Tuesday

Here is the link to "Bullheads" in The Atlantic.

Enjoy!

Mike

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2005/04/bullheads/3824

Comments for Mohamed and Shelby here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Faduma and Lul here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Brian and Amber here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Ayan and Aisha here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

mrs kelliher

I interview Mrs kelliher and this assignment meant to me allot because  i had learn this assignment so many things because she travel allot of places she has more experience.She told me that she went china when she was in High school she finish her high school over there.my favorite paragraph is "when i was growing my goal was to have six kids"thats my favorite paragraph and then she change her mind when she grow up.

Mexican Immigration



Whether we realize it or not, the United States is affected by the bad economy that has hit Mexico. Many people are losing their faith in their government which is causing them to flee to the United States. People are leaving to either find a better life in our country, or to bring the drugs that they are harvesting in their own country to sell over here. "Dealing with our illegal alien problem has been a large problem for our country. Out of 307 million people in America 11.1 million are illegally in the country. Some people think that illegal immigrants should be granted full amnesty without conditions. Others believe that they should be given amnesty as long as they abide by our laws and try to get citizenship. Still others think that all the illegal aliens should be deported immediately. As citizens of America we need to be informed of the statistics and issues surrounding illegal immigrants."

http://www.illegalimmigrationstatistics.org/

 In The Road, the passage that has had the most impact on me was when the father had to shoot the man, then the group that was with the man turned around and ate his body. It goes to show the your "friends" are willing to turn on you and do anything in order to survive. My favorite line comes from the man speaking about what his son has seen. “You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.”

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Drug War In Mexico

Part One: The Mexican drug war has negatively affected so many lives in Mexico. Over the past 5 years nearly 48,000 thousand people have been killed in suspected drug-related violence in Mexico. During the first three quarters of 2011, nearly 13,000 people died. This death rate does not include the 5,000 people that have gone missing during this time. These are people who have loved ones that are losing their lives as a result of the drug war. This war does not only affect adults in Mexico, but also children. tens of thousands of children have been orphaned by this violence.


This war has also greatly affected the economy in Mexico as well. The Mexican and Columbian drug cartels are said to be making 39 billion dollars annually. They have taken money out of the economy from their home country and put it into their own pockets. Rather than boosting the economy of Mexico, they are boosting the local drug economy. So many residents of Mexico are leaving jobs that pay them $5 a day in order to join these drug cartels and make a better living.

Not only are these drug wars affecting Mexico negatively, but they are also affecting us across the border. These gangs affiliated with the drug wars are not only present in Mexico, but also in U.S. cities such as Los Angelas, Dallas and beyond. In fact their presence has grown to nearly 1,000 U.S. cities. Though the violence has mostly remained in Mexico, there have still been reports of drug affiliated violence here in the states.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/15/world/mexico-drug-war-essay/index.html

Part Two: My favorite scene in The Road thus far is the conversation between the father and son on page 10-11. It shows the love between the father and son and also the complete innocence of the boy. My favorite writing thus far: "Can I ask you something? Yes. Of course you can. What would you do if I died? If you died I would want to die too. So you could be with me? Yes. So I could be with you. Okay. I love the dialogue writing style in the book thus far. I think this really helps the intimate conversations between these two stick out for the reader.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Comments for Eric and Ruth here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Kara and Farhiya here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Melissa and Esah here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Comments for Kaitlyn and Katelan here

In your comments, please write one thing about the content and information given.  Then, write one thing about the presentation style (the way it was given).

Post all comments under this post, so the students can get feedback for their work.

Thanks,

Mike

Rebecca Salyer





My favorite passage from my interview:

                   I think generally though the experiences I have had as a teacher, most of the time if you have faith and confidence in who you are working with that most of the time they are going to come through. I think a lot of it is expectations and students learning what you expect out of them. I think sometimes it goes back to the "tough love" kind of thing. You can have fun with them, but they need to know what the boundaries are. If they know what your expectations are and you don't let that down, most of the time they are going to come through for you. Too many times people in society just think, "Oh, we should just give up on them!", but I think sometimes you just need to push a little harder and it will turn them around. [Laughs] I don't know. I have seen teachers back kids in a corner and when they come out fighting, they don't know why. I think that you just have to learn how to deal with people and how to handle people. For the most part, I feel I am pretty good with that. Sometimes I struggle with some kids and getting them to respond.

When I read this part it makes me think of all the "bad" kids I went to school with. Maybe if someone would have given them a chance or believed in them instead of giving up on them then maybe they could have been better. Some people have it rough at home and come to school for attention and nothing else. Maybe if we push some kids a little harder they might turn out different but eveyone thinks we should give up on them if they can't strive on their own. We cant just focus on the good ones and all the bad ones there are a few great ones in the middle that need a good push. Mrs salyer is awesome at gettin people to do what she asks just because she knows everyone is good in their own way.

Interview with John Haueisen

What meant the most to me about doing this project was getting to know more about my cousin, John. I knew he was a local celebrity, but I never knew that much about him. I really enjoyed hearing him tell historical stories. He knows how to make history interesting. It meant a lot to me to learn more about John’s life, as well as to witness his storytelling abilities.
 I learned that transcribing takes a lot more time than I thought it would, and it is hard to narrow down the interview to what you want to put in your paper when there is so much to choose from.
Here is my favorite part of the essay:
How did you get started in historical research?
Well, a lot of that just came up because…First of all, there was a little old lady in the neighborhood who seemed to know a lot about the history of places. One day I asked her, just to make conversation, “Where was this Worthington Manufacturing Company you’re always talking about?” She says, “John, you go past it every day when you walk your dogs!” Then I thought, “Oh gee, I should’ve known.” So I thought, “I ought to learn a little bit.” I read some books in the Historical Society library and the first thing I’d ever heard about the Civil War and Worthington. It said, “Worthington had a regiment that fought in the Civil War. They were led by Colonel Tom Worthington who was court-martialed and thrown out of the army.” I thought, “Wow! I wonder what he did! It must’ve been terrible!” Then my big surprise when I got into the records…First, it was hard to find records. It was like they’d erased him from history. Then I found little things where all he did was, he promised the parents of his soldiers, “I’ll try my best to be a parent in your place and bring your boys home alive to you.” He tried his best to keep his soldiers from getting killed and General Sherman didn’t like things like that. General Sherman said, “Send ten thousand over there! Yeah, they’ll get blown-up by the cannons, but that’ll make the other men madder and they’ll be better fighters in future battles!” So it’s interesting. We all, grow up thinking everything that’s in books tells us the truth. A lot of times books lie. Sometimes they’re printed by people who had an interest in it. Like, why is it so hard to find anything about Colonel Tom? It’s because General Sherman’s brother was a U.S. Senator and he called all the newspapers and said, “Quit telling stories about what General Sherman did at Shiloh. Hush up that guy, Worthington, and throw him out!” [chuckles] And so they did!

My interview with David James



The thing that meant the most to me during this interview was how strong David held to his faith. It was clear that his faith in God was unwavering. I learned that reporting requires lots of time in advance to plan and time to type post-interview. This is my favorite quoter from the interview: "I’ve enjoyed life to the fullest. Life doesn’t end just because you are crippled and can’t walk. I stress a lot that life is full of choices. You can choose to be mad at the situation and you can be mad at God or you can choose to praise God and that’s what I would share with somebody. You can make of your life what you want to make out of it. You can curse God or you can praise God. I choose to praise God."

My Interview with Simon Oh

My interview with Simon went very well I thought. Simon story brings a lot to the table, but I think my best theme was his pride he had for Korea. He spoke about how if it was up to him, there wouldn't be a North/South. I thought this was a great quote: "My dad played a few golf rounds in the North, but other than that he just had stories of his father… it sounded so fucked up over there… I don’t like being compared to them. (Cigar hit). Yes I’m Korean… they’re so different than people from the South. I don’t understand it. (Cigar hit and 5-6 second pauses). Korea should just be Korea, no North or South… but I don’t want to ramble about that, I could go on forever”.

Monday, May 21, 2012

My interview with Roy Lyon

      
       This project meant a lot to me, and i enjoyed it a lot. When we were first assigned this, I was nervous and did not know what to think. During the interview i started to enjoy this project more than I had thought. The thing that meant the most to me was being able to hear the stories and past of Roy. I had no clue of any of the things he had told me, and I learned what kind of a man he was just by listening to his words. During the writing and reporting process, I learned that it is not a cake walk and it takes a lot of thought and re arranging. It was difficult because I was given so many topics to that i could write about but could only choose a few, and try to get the best of his quotes on those topics.

        There were two passages that I thought the writing was at its best, and the first was when he was talking about his wife. He is a strong believer of marriage and this showed how he was raised and how he lives. "When you take your wedding vows you have to mean it, so when you say that you will support your wife or husband you need to mean it." This shows that he is very caring for his wife. A second passage was advice he gave to me, and other young adults. "Pay attention to what you're doing, learn from others, maintain a good work ethic, and maintain a good ethical standard for yourself. When you cheat others, you cheat yourself even more." This was an excellent quote and true in almost every way. I agreed with him completely on all of those.