Media Saves the Beach Reflection

Two aspects of my water project that I am proud of...


1. My photography.

I was really proud of the way my pictures turned out for this project. I took a lot of time learning how to use the different features on the cameras in order to maximize the composition and quality of my pictures. By doing this, I took a once in a lifetime picture that aren't easily reproduced. Also this helped me take better pictures, and set up the layout of my pictures instead of hoping to get lucky and taking a lot of pictures.

I reached the high quality of work by going out to take pictures many times so that I have a diverse amount of pictures to choose from. Also I went in different areas at different times of the day to see how the lighting and location of the sun effects the picture. I also spent a lot of time setting up my shot and by making sure there is a balance of positive and negative space within my picture.

2. My Writing

The San Diego Audubon Society works with the Port of San Diego on the protection of birds and other wildlife through education and study. In an effort to raise awareness about San Diego Bay and the birds that inhabit it, the Audubon Society provides guided field trips, nature tours, and in-class education sessions, partially funded by grants from the Port of San Diego.

Another way to learn about San Diego Bay is to go on the Harbor Tour and whale watching expedition sponsored by Birch Aquarium at Scripps. This narrated tour shows visitors the California Gray whale, dolphins, sea lions, birds, and many other animals found in San Diego Bay.

For this project, I did multiple small paragraphs of writing for each month of the calendar I was responsible for. I'm proud of this writing because I was able to have short concise paragraphs containing detailed information. My paragraphs were easy to understand, straight to the point, and also were about an understandable topic.

I reached this high quality of writing by doing many drafts and a lot of research about my topic. My doing background research I was able to include a lot of information without making them seem like I was just stating facts. I did many versions and critiques of my writing in over to have my writing be to the best of it's ability. The different critiques gave me a varied opinions to improve my writing.

Biracial President

"Isn't it time for the language to move on?" Marie Arana writes in her editorial in which she starts off talking about Barack Obama. Although one of the main points of her article is about biracial people, and how more and more people around us are biracial, without us realizing it, her message is much deeper than that. " In other words, the color of a president-elects skin doesn't tell you much. It's an unreliable marker, a deceptive form of packaging. Isn't it time we stopped using labels that validate the separation of races?" Basically, I feel that her editorial is about moving on and bringing the words we say up to speed with the actions we are taking, and I agree with her.

American citizens may not realize how ignorant they can be at times. For example, by referencing Barack Obama as our first black president, when technically he is our first Biracial President. He will be the first president that is black, but he is also half white. By calling him the first black president I don't believe that you are wrong. It is still true, just not as correct as it could be.

I feel that it is both technically correct because there is no incorrect statement being made. One isn't as correct or as proper, yet still true. I also feel that we were misinformed. Nobody mentioned during the election process or through any of the campaigns that he was the first biracial president, he was always referenced as the first black president.

The point Marie Arana is trying to make is we need to be as sophisticated with our word choices as we are with our decisions we make. If we are trying to bring both to the same level, I feel that we need to educate, and say the proper phrases from the beginning. I don't feel that people are being incorrect because they don't agree, I believe it is because they don't know the truth.


He's Not Black

Thanksgiving!

What are you thankful for this year?

I am thankful for the life I am given, my friends and family, and the opportunities I am given. Throughout this project in class, I am thankful to have a teacher who is dedicated to helping me with it, and for putting in as much effort as I am. I'm also thankful for the house I live in, the food I get to eat, and for my family. I'm also thankful for the constant support I get from my school, friends and my family. They encourage me to follow my dreams, set high expectations for myself and to follow through with them.


Post three specific things that you will accomplish for this project before TG break is over! Then, bring those things to school on Monday Dec. 2.

1- I will have been in contact with at least 3 possible sponsors and have responses from this if they are donating or not.
2- I will have the final drafts of each of my calendar paragraphs
3- I will have a final draft of my introduction to the calendar

The Red Pony

The Red Pony by John Steinbeck teaches life lessons to a boy, Jody, through things that happen in everyday life. Jody goes through hard struggles throughout the book, and overcomes his fears. He uses connections between his parents and other family members to look at different perspectives. John Steinbeck uses literacy devices such as imagery, personification and symbolism through the book.

Through his detailed and descriptive writing, John Steinbeck uses imagery to show you what is going on in the book. In the first part of this story, " the gift," the setting of the story is displayed using description. "The cowpumkpins were green and small yet. He went on to the sagebrush line where the cold spring ran out of its pipe and fell into a round wooden tub. He leaned over and drank close to the green mossy wood where the water tasted best ( Page 6.)" In sentences like these, John Steinbeck provides words that appeal to the senses. Instead of saying vague sentences, such as, He drank the best water, John Steinbeck provides background knowledge of the area without using filler words.

In the second story of this book, " The Great Mountains," John Steinbeck uses Personification, with the great mountains as the inanimate object. I perceived the great mountains as an idol and a goal for young Jody to reach. Throughout the book he asks many characters about them, and gets different answers. He asks his father, who has no interest in going there, and he asks the old man who comes to stay with them, who shares his experiences about going there. Jody is curious about what is on the other side of the objects, on the other side of life. His father explains to him how on the Great Mountains are " dangerous, with cliffs and things. Why I've read there's more unexplored country in the mountains of Monterey County than any other place in the United States (Page 39.)" The mountains portray a field of unanswered questions.

The final literacy device used in The Red Pony was Symbolism. John Steinbeck uses symbolism of loss and death throughout each of the stories within this book. They go through a pattern of cumulating all of the events together to create one. When the old mare dies, it was more than that to Jody. It symbolizes that it was his first horse. When the pony dies before it was born, this also symbolizes the trust Jody had in Billy Buck. Jody and Billy Buck had many discussions about Billy Buck was going to deliver this pony, and how Billy Buck was the best horse raiser in town. Once the pony died, so did Jody's trust in Billy Buck.

Although this book was short, It used a lot of literacy devices to explain in detail the meaning behind the story. Using imagery, personification, and symbolism, John Steinbeck successfully shares his message. He uses all the inanimate objects and characters in the story to represent a different meaning as well. The characters all rely on each other to help show the different messages.

Water Project

What are you discovering so far?

So far within this project, I have discovered a lot about my working habits. If its something I'm interested in, I've found that I put a lot of effort, and a lot of extra time in it. I feel like Ive gone above and beyond with this project, in order to complete it on time.

Ive discovered through my research how many regulations the port has on San Diego Bay. They regulate how tall buildings on the bay can be, and also what the ratio between land and plants has to be. They also put strong regulations on fisherman for how much, and what kind of fish they can catch.

What surprises you about this project?

What's surprising me about this project is how fast the deadlines are approaching. I feel like we have a lot of time left, but we don't have very much time at all. The project deadline is approaching fast, and our calendar needs to be done before hand.

What are your next steps to have a cool product and a great piece of writing?

My next steps for my project is to keep adding to my writing, to make it as descriptive as possible. Also to pick my pictures and start editing them so they are at their highest potential. Also we are beginning to pre sale our calenders and receive sponsors who are donating to our funds. We also need to begin our indesign template, insert our paragraphs, dates, tide calendar, pictures, and sponsor information. We also need to finalize a printer, get proofs from him once we are finished, receive the final calendars and then sell them

As you can see, we have a lot to do still!

Change

We have finally broke the tradition of our typical American president. By electing Barak Obama as president, his slogan, " Change" has come into effect already. Without even starting his term in office, by being elected president he has changed America.

Mr. Obama owes his victory, first, to his gift of leadership and personality: the hybrid cool of his charisma, his cathartic power to mine unity from difference. But his triumph depended on voters, first prone to see his candidacy as exotic, to recognize it as something that could (and would) only happen here. That they did stems in large part from the founding fathers’ clear vision of the ideal makeup of a democracy: an inclusive electorate, political participation and political power sharing.

- Op Ed Contributer, Orlando Patterson

Although America allows all of its citizens to vote nowadays (except for when it is taken away) it wasn't always that way. If you follow the path of woman's right to vote, you would be as surprised as I was to see how things use to be.

In 1848, The first women's rights convention is held in Seneca Falls, New York. After 2 days of discussion and debate, 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which shows the pathway to improve women's rights movement, in hope for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.

In 1850, The first National Women's Rights Convention takes place in Worcester, Mass. attracting more than 1,000 participants. This began activists like Susan B. Anthony, Charlotte Woodward, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Lucy Stone, to start organizations to help gain voting rights for women.

In 1893, Colorado is the first state to adopt an amendment granting women the right to vote. Utah and Idaho follow this in 1896, Washington State in 1910,California in 1911, Oregon, Kansas and Arizona in 1912, Alaska and Illinois in 1913, Montana and Nevada in 1914, New York in 1917, and Michigan, South Dakota and Oklahoma following in 1918.

August 26, 1920 is known as the day the suffrage battle was won, the long battle for the vote for women was finally won. In 1920, when women finally won the vote throughout the nation, Charlotte Woodward was the only participant in the 1848 Convention who was still alive to cast her vote. Eighty-one years old, she cast her vote proudly.

Resources:

1. Imbornoni, Ann-Marie. "Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.: Timeline — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. 10 Nov. 2008 .
2. Lewis, Jone Johnson. "August 26, 1920 - Women's Suffrage Victory - Nineteenth Amendment Becomes Law." Women's History - Comprehensive Women's History Research Guide. 10 Nov. 2008 .
3. Patterson , Orlando . "Op-Ed Contributor - An Eternal Revolution - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 10 Nov. 2008 .
4. "The Declaration of Sentiments — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework help. — Infoplease.com. 10 Nov. 2008

H20 Project

For our calender, I have a few inspirations. I'm mainly basing my calender to look similarly to the calender produced by the biology class from High Tech High last year. Their calender includes a balance of photography, informational paragraphs, the tide calender, and important dates through out the year relating to the environment.



Some aspects I want to incorporate are the facts they used. They have strong paragraphs that give you a good overview of the picture, and the researched they determined. It isn't all text but by reading it you learn a lot. There is a good balance of negative space with the text therefor the text isn't overwhelming.

Another thing I like that I want to incorporate into my calender is the use of multiple pictures. It isn't just a main picture, with a paragraph, and a calender. There are smaller pictures that relate to the main image by being from a different angle or providing something similar.

One last thing I want to incorporate into my calender that I'm referencing from this calender is the use of environmental holidays on the calender. I want to take what they have, which is the standard earth day, and day of humanity and stretch it out. I want to include important beach clean up days, and other days that relate to the theme of our calender. I think this is a good idea because along with the typical calender holidays, our viewers will also become more educated on environmental holidays.

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As I begin to start thinking about what I want to photograph, I looked through different websites to find inspiring photography. What I have found, is the pictures I remember the most are the most intriguing pictures. Photographs with an interesting subject or a cool use of lighting is what i remember after Ive moved on from this pictures. Both of these Images are taken from San Diego Bay/ Imperial Beach, and its more than just a picture of the beach, or a picture of the San Diego Skyline. This helps me by showing me there are many more options of which to choose from when taking my pictures.

Election 2008 Reflection

Personally, I am fine with the results of the election. I didn't have a strong opinion on which candidate i wanted for president because I agreed and disagreed with all of their views. I also believe that both candidates will have there flaws, and make decisions that not everyone will agree with. When it comes to making important decisions like that, unless I have a strong opinion, I have a neutral opinion. My hopes for this country is that we get our of the situation we have adapted to. I hope we get out of our war, out of debt to other countries and our of our failing economy. I know it won't happen over night, but each day we can make process towards it. My concerns for this country is that Barak Obama was elected president because he was different, and a change of pace, rather that what he believes in.

My humanities class has taught me to realize what is going on in the world around me. By looking at the news more often than I did before, I am more aware of what is going on. I am looking at the news to relate it to U.S. History, for my blogs, to be more educated, and to keep up what is going on with the election and the proposed propositions. My knowledge of what happened during the elections was that while watching I felt like i knew what was going on, and what the race to 270 meant. If we didn't discuss it in class, I wouldn't have known what i meant and how significant it was.

Water Project Calender

For my water project, final project, my partners and I are going to create a collaborative Tide Calender for 2009. We are going to incorporate pictures, informative facts, quick did you know facts, the tides, and important environmental dates.

My research question that I am going to use for all three of my months is," What is the port of San Diego doing to improve certain beaches in San Diego?" The beaches I choose to research more into is San Diego Bay, Imperial Beach/Chulva Vista, and Seaport Village.

Group Members:
Sydney Lampe, Jade Tyler, Jeremy Sheahan, Rodrigo Arrieta, and Jake Neighbors

Calender of events:
November 7- Research important dates/ areas of photography
November 8/9/10/11: Take pictures at assigned locations
November 12: Review Picture and Retake pictures if necessary
November 13: Pick finalized pictures. have one main photograph and also 1-2 smaller photographs on the calender page.
November 14/15/16: Begin working on paragraphs. Have rough drafts for all paragraphs by beginning of class on the 17th. Find " Did you know fact" for each of your locations.
November 17: Begin basic layout/in design spread sheet.
November 18: Insert Pictures into layout/in design sheet. ( GET FINAL CALENDER LAYOUT WITH TIDE INFO FROM JAKE)
November 19: Insert Calendar with tide information
November 20: Insert paragraphs into layout/in design sheet
November 21: Insert facts/dates/did you know facts. Complete draft of calendar ready for critique.
November 22-30= Thanksgiving Break
December 1-2: Critiques for content
December 3-4: Critiques for Aesthetic Appeal
December 5: Send to Printer

Months:
1 Jade: Mission Bay/ Fiesta Island
2 Jade: De’anza Cove
3 Jade: Mission Bay/Aquatic Center
4 Jeremy: Del Mar
5 Jeremy: Chula Vista Marina
6 Jeremy: Coronado
7 Sydney: San Diego Bay
8 Sydney: I.B./Chula Vista
9 Sydney: Seaport Village
10 Rodrigo: OB Pier
11 Rodrigo: H&M Landing/Shelter Island
12 Rodrigo: San Diego River mouth


For our materials, We don't need many physical items, but our project is going to require a lot of work. Were going to need a camera with a high megapixel to take high quality pictures. We are also going to need many students to help critique our calender for aesthetics and for content. This is important because we need to produce a high quality of work. We also are going to need a printing company to print our calender.

FedEx Kinkos has a calender printing option, and it is $20, per calender. The thing with this is that you use their template. We are still looking for a less expensive option where we can use our own template that we can create. We are also looking for sponsors to have an ad in our calender to help fund the calender. Our calender will be on sale during our exhibition.

Beginning Research

As we begin to work on our water project, I have found a few questions that I would like to research further.

What are the positive/negative attributes of the OB Jetty? Do they cause problems or have a purpose beyond erosion?

What is a Jetty?

A jetty is usually a pile of rocks extending into the water to protect a small area from a tide or current, or for forming basins along the sea-coast for ports in tide less seas. Jetties can be used for regulating rivers, entrances to harbors, lagoon outlets and rivers. Jetties are built at the mouth of a river or entrance to a bay to help deepen and stabilize a channel and facilitate navigation.

Positive Attributes:
*Helps with erosion to keep beaches at the same length.
*Provides a surfing spot

It begins with a steep peak and a small takeoff zone, but then elongates into a long, fast right wall. It sections depending on the sandbar and swell direction. Both sets and insiders are similarly shaped, and the break, although preferring a mid- to low tide, will break well on just about any tide.

*To direct and confine the stream or tidal flow to a selected channel, or to prevent shoaling( The bottom effect which influences the height of waves moving from deep to shallow water.)

Negative Attributes:
*People have gotten caught onto the rocks, and had to have been rescued by boats.
*Pollution and trash gets caught into the rocks, and it is necessary for groups to go in and clean the trash.


For my piece of writing, I hope to visit the OB Jetty, and see what I can find in the rocks. When I go, I will look for trash, animals inhabiting the rocks, and other things I might find unusual. I will ask the lifeguards if the Jetty provides trouble with swimmers; does it create more rescues or help out in case of a rescue?

How is the Port of San Diego (Organization) improving the environment in San Diego Bay?




In San Diego Bay, There are many different forms of boating. There are sailboats, personal motor/power yachts, cargo ships containing cars,food and products from outside sources, cruise ships, ferry's and also harbor excursions.

The Port of San Diego States, " One of the Port of San Diego's many responsibilities is to protect the bay and its resources."

They have realized the boats are causing an issue, and are doing what they can to help. For example;
The party boat, " The Neptunes Palace" has been removed from the bottom of San Diego Bay in June of 2008. The boat had sunk in 2003. While being bellow the surface, parts of the ship rotted away and spread throughout our bay.

Although the Port of San Diego is " actively cleaning our bay" the link provided on their website to check the water quality of areas around San Diego Bay, all of the locations are labeled, " NO DATA AVAILABLE."

For cruise ships, we have a cruise ship in port for the most part every day, if not more than one every day. When cruise ships are in town, the bay is being polluted by the cruise ship itself, as well as the number of tourist attractions go up. Harbor excursions and ferries to Coronado become more popular and run more frequently to keep up with the demand.

The Port of San Diego is also responsible recreational fisheries on San Diego Bay. The Port is currently working in a partnership with the State Coastal Conservancy and the commercial fishermen of San Diego Bay on a project to enhance the commercial fishing industry in San Diego. The first step in this effort is the development of a Commercial Fisheries Revitalization & Coastal Public Access Plan for San Diego Bay. To complete the plan, the Port of San Diego and our partners will utilize a grant of $450,000 grant from the California Coastal Conservancy as well as funds provided by the Port. This money and effort is going to help increase the pollution in the bay and could be used to protect animals and other inhabitants of the bay.


For this piece of writing, I want to do it as a current news article. I want to interview people who work for the different forms of commercial and privately owned boats that occupy San Diego bay. I want to ask them and quote them on their personal views. I also want to go to the bay and take observations and data on the amount of boats using the Bay at different times.


Resources:
OB Jetty:
Jetty Video
Rock Jetties
Sign On San Diego
San Diego Reader

San Diego Bay:
Commercial Fisheries
The Port of San Diego
Water Quality
Port of San Diego Environment

The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter is about a woman named Hester Prynne that is going through a tough time. At the beginning of the story, with her baby, Pearl in her arm, Hester is taken to jail, and punished with adultery. Pearl was born from a man other than Hester's husband while he was away, and throughout the book Hester never tells who Pearl's father is, or about the Scarlet Letter "A" on her chest. Nathanial Hawthorne uses literacy devices such as imagery, character description and symbolism through the book.

Inagery is a strong literacy devices because it enables the reader of the book to visualize events happening in the book. Nathanial Hawthorne uses imagery as a way to describe the atmosphere around an events happening. "But, one idle and rainy day, it was my fortune to make a discovery of some little interest. Poking and burrowing in the heaped-up rubbish in the corner, unfolding one and another document and reading the name of the vessels that had long ago foundered at sea , or rotted at the wharves. (page 22)" With detailed sentences that provide background information, Hawthorne provides an understanding of the text.

Characters within the Scarlet Letter play an important part of the story. The story is based around the life of a character, so a well developed character description is vital in order to deeply understand the story. " With his florid cheek, his compact figure, smartly arrayed in a bright-buttoned blue coat, his brisk and vigorous step, and his hale and hearty aspect altogether he seemed- not young,indeed - but a kind of new contrivance of mother nature in the shape of man, whom age and infirmity had no business to touch. " Character development throughout the story show array of differences throughout the novel.

Symbolism plays the biggest part of literacy devices throughout the novel. The scarlet letter, a printed "A" on Hester's chest, is through of to be the symbol of shame. Throughout the story the scarlet letter turns into a way to identify Hester. " It was the scarlet letter in another form: the scarlet letter endowed with life. The mother herself-as if the red ignominy were so deeply scorched into her brain that all her conceptions assumed its form- had carefully wrought out the similitude, lavishing many hours of morbid ingenuity to create an analogy between the truth." The scarlet letter becomes a character development and description that provides a way of analyzing Hester Prynne's character.

With the uses of Imagery, Character Development and Symbolism, Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a descriptive and interesting novel to read. The characters are easy to relate to, the storyline is easy to understand and the flow of the novel is smooth. Without the use of these literacy devices, the novel description wouldn't be as in depth and thoughtful as it is now.

Securing Our Votes

With the elections right around the corner, both candidates are doing what they can to secure their votes, and convince some last minute voters. Advertisements are running more than ever, and the campaign is more heated than it has been this far.

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, also known as ACORN, works to stop Republican voter suppression tactics. Some may also think of them as far-left radical activist group. With over a dozens worth of states that have now have reported issues of significant irregularities in voting registration. The ACORN foundation considers themselves consistently present as a voice for working families since 1970.

The Vote-Suppression, also known as the GOP strategy has shifted from attempts to win the popular vote by demonizing Barack Obama to reversing American voting standards.

Most citizens are wondering if we are going to have have a fair election. This would not be a problem is suppressing the vote not become apart of the Republican electoral strategy. Neither side wants a victory to besmirched by fraud, and neither side wants to risk losses due to fraud. ACORN paid a $25,000 settlement and agreed to monitoring of its voter registration efforts. While the ACORN office is still signing up new voters, no one needs a photo I.D. to register or vote. The democratically-controlled state Legislature turned that idea down.

ACORN is an organization to register people to vote. Workers are out on the streets, making minimum wage, gathering information from citizens to submit to their company. Since its all done by paperwork, there is given a lot of room for fraud, and for false identities. A thing that could make it a Scandal, is that it is possible the ACORN employees are submitting false identities to make their daily quota. If it is true, ACORN is up for a lot of law suits. With ACORN Scandal, more votes are accumulated than people.

With the Vote Suppression, it is the opposite. The Vote suppression limits the amount of people that are able to vote. They make assumptions and characteristics that can be considered unconstitutional. For example, if there is a criminal with the name of Joseph, certain states can pass laws limiting the number of Joseph's allowed to vote. This makes it possibly an uneven and incorrect vote in the end.

1. "ACORN: The Real ACORN." ACORN: Home. 29 Oct. 2008 .
2. "Another Acorn Scandal." New York Post. 13 July 2008. 28 Oct. 2008 .
3. Carmichael, Michael. "Michael Carmichael: GOP Endgame: Vote Suppression." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 21 Oct. 2008. 29 Oct. 2008 .
4. "Commentary » Blog Archive » Cracking ACORN." Commentary. 29 Oct. 2008 .
5. "Commentary: ACORN issue not vote fraud, but vote suppression - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. 28 Oct. 2008 .
6. "Michael Carmichael: GOP Endgame: Vote Suppression." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. 28 Oct. 2008 .
7. Sears, Michael. "GOP Strategy: Voter Suppression | CommonDreams.org." Common Dreams | News & Views. 29 Oct. 2008 .
8. "Voter Fraud Watch: Could ACORN Scandal in Washington Have Been Avoided With Photo ID? - FOXNews.com Elections ." Home - FOXNews.com Elections . 28 Oct. 2008

Reviewing Old Debates

The present day debates are completely different from debates in previous times, but are also very similar. Election Debates have been around since at least 1870's when we first saw the Lincoln Douglas Debates. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a 7 part serious that traveled all through Illinois.

They are similar in the sense that they both involved two candidates and rebutted their ideals against one another, but the format was different. Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas had there debate where one talked for an hour, the other responded for half an hour, and then did his talk for an hour, and then the first one who talked gave his speech than gave his 30 minute response.

Personally, I don't think the candidates in the 2008 presidential elections could have their debate with these settings. First because they wouldn't be able to not talk while the other one talked for that period of time, and it was cause to many disturbances. Also, I don't think that they could cover in depth a lot of the same topics and as diverse as they do with the way they did there debates. They would spend to much time going over one specific topic and not as many different topics. Also I feel the current debate style references more as a debate because they can respond a lot faster.


Resources:

"Lincoln-Douglas Debates." National Park Service - Experience Your America. 18 Oct. 2008 .

" 2008 Presidential Debates." You Decide 2008. 18 Oct. 2008. .

Internt and Media

The way we look at our presidential election has changed with the influence of technology. With more technology out there, we have access to more information. We can find more information on our candidates that isn't shown through the media.

With references like Myspace Decision 08, and Myspace Election 08, students and young adults can be aware of what is going on throughout election, basically without going out of their way. They are given the same information as if they were to read the newspaper or watch the news. This makes it more accessible and helps the new generation be aware of whats going on. One problem I see happening with this, is that when they get older, they won't make the jump for teenage news to real life adult news.

Americans view news how it is given to them, that is how we have many biased and one sided, opinionated news sources. As Americans, we expect that the news companies have hired a team of experts to find the best way to reach us. They don't just promote the news, they promote it in the best way for it to be heard possible. They want to story to spread the fastest and most efficiently, which evidently includes them coming to us.

With internet now, some Americans don't take the time to read the print newspaper, they read the article summaries online, or wait for sections of it to be passed along in a chain email.

Newspaper Reflection

For this project, My group and I had a lot of complications. For starters, for about half of the project, we were missing at least one member every day. This was hard because we had to communicate through email, and rely on each other to work on our own.

The most obvious thing that I contributed to our newspaper is the article I wrote on my own. I feel like that is what I spent most of my time working on during this project and I worked very hard on it. I tried to make it as professional and news-style writing as much as possible and to have it be as clear as it could be. Another thing that I contributed, that isn't evident as my article, is I critiqued and corrected both of my group members articles before they were published. This helped our newspaper be professional and as correct as possible.

I would have liked to have a stronger title and picture caption for my article. I was pressed for time to complete my article and my extras for my article that I didn't have enough time to make it as good as it could have been. I spent more time working on my article, and not enough time working on the other aspects.

My process consisted of a lot of school working with not enough time outside of school devoted to working on this project. If I were to do this project again, I would spend more time outside of class, especially since I was absent a few of the days. Although I didn't work on my project outside of school, this shows that I worked efficiently in class because I was able to produce a high quality piece of work in the allotted time.

Exploring Photography

Rule of Thirds:
The rule of thirds is a good way to line up photographs for the maximum appeal. It gives it more in depth than if the picture was centered.

Deliberate Use of Depth of Field:


This photograph demonstrates a good use of depth of field. It lets the subject stand out more, and helps the color become brighter.

Eyes, Color, Fill the Frame


By filling the frame, you can see detail and depth within a picture. The subject is clear and stands out a lot.

Interesting Use of Light


Light can provide a different contrast. I really like this photograph because its a very dark setting with a bright point where the sun comes through the window.

Shooting at Eye-Level

When shooting at eye level with a subject that isn't eye-level, you provide a perspective that isn't normally looked at or viewed.

Macro Photography

Macro photography is a zoomed in photograph. You can see closely the subject and the details that go along with the subject.

Favorite Form of Photography:
I enjoy black and white photography the most because the subjects are more clear and the lighting plays a larger effect. With shading in black and white, the photograph seems smoother to me.

Uncovering Unknown Information

With the elections coming up a lot of things are changing throughout the Untied States. People are starting to look more into what the believe in, and which presidential candidate represents them the best. Also, with the economy dropping as low as it has people are starting to look at where there money is spent. Although it is different in different cities, In one city in America, Data has shown that the average family will spend $10,600 per year on Transportation, which is roughly 33% of their income.

Also with the elections coming up, we are starting to see more commercials and advertisements trying to persuade us to vote for different props. One proposition that I see a lot of, is to vote yes on prop 10. Proposition 10 is a five billion dollar bond that will reduce California's dependence on foreign oil, and also clean our atmosphere, and also to create thousands of " green" technology jobs for Californians.


The demographics can change in whichever city you go to, based on the different lifestyles. The questions I have about demographics is how to they know they are getting a clear representation of the American culture within the data, and what do they do to make sure of it? I think people don't realize how absurd some facts about the American lifestyle, and by looking at just the statistics it is hard to realize. I also would like to know what percentage of Americans look at the statistics.

Increasing Segregation?

Segregation Through the Amendments

According to Harry Truman, one of the greatest responsibilities of the supreme court is to protect the civil rights of the American people. One amendment that relates to this and has been constantly under review throughout history by the supreme court is amendment fourteen. Amendment fourteen guarantees privileges and immunities of citizenship, due process, and equal protection. One of the biggest tests of the fourteenth amendment is "Separate but equal" and many supreme court cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. This case involved challenges to segregate schools that were equalized. Linda Brown, a black student, had to be bused across town to attend a black school, even though near her house was a white school. Civil Rights lawyers argued that school segregation led to black schools being badly unfunded, and also denied black students the freedom of amendment fourteen.

Another case that is a test of the fourteenth amendment was the Plessy v. Ferguson case in 1896. In this case, Plessy concerned not only schools but the state laws requiring equal but separate facilities for white and colored students.

" The Object of the Fourteenth Amendment was undoubtedly to enforce the absolute equality of the two races before the law, but in the nature if things it could not have been intended to abolish distinctions based upon color, or to enforce social, as distinguished from political, equality, or a commingling of the two races upon terms unsatisfactory to either." - Plessy v. Ferguson Case

Realizing Our Actions
All of these cases regarding separation of colored and white relate back to today because there are still many different opinions on it today, and although we may not realize it, segregation is still a problem today. In 2002, an article was written about segregation today within schools. This article states that 1/3 of white teachers who teach at schools predominately black in Georgia will leave the school to teach at a school that is predominantly white. In my classmate Luke's blog, he posted a video showing segregation through schools in the present day. In this video, it shows how segregation was in the past, and how it improved, and then as time progresses, segregation is " back sliding in a disturbing pace, segregating by class, language and race." The most interesting thing I found from this video was the statistics they showed supporting how segregation is appearing more in schools. It said that in 1968, black students attending white high schools was 23%, and then it increased in 1988 to 37%, and in 2005 it decreased to 27%. It astonishes me how we can let segregation like this happen.



Resources:

1. "Background Summary." Brown vs. Board of Education. 30 Sep. 2008 .
2. "FindLaw: U.S. Constitution: Fourteenth Amendment." FindLaw: Cases and Codes. 3 Oct. 2008 .
3. Heffner, Richard D.. A Documentary History of the United States: (Seventh Revised Edition). New York: Signet, 2002.
4. Scafidi, Ben . "White Teachers Are Leaving Predominately Black Schools In Georgia." Georgia State University . 27 Sep. 2008 .
5. "Segregation Returns to America." YouTube. 2 Oct. 2007. 30 Sep. 2008 .
6. Treanor, Nick. The Civil Rights Movement. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2003.
7. "Truman Library - To Secure These Rights, Chapter III." Harry S. Truman Library and Museum. 2 Oct. 2008 .

What is Libel?

To what soon became a case that the Cheif Justice didn't want to take off of trial contains multiple components. In the case of People vs. George Crosswell, there are many different aspects within the case.  The main thing it goes against though is Amendment One. The first Amendment states talks about the freedom of speech, and the freedom of speech. This 1804 case, goes through the importance of the liberty of press consisting within the truth of good motives.  Alexander Hamilton says there are two great questions that arose from this case. One being, Can the truth be given in evidence? Personally, I agree completely. I believe the only way to best prove your honesty, is by supporting it with evidence. Unfortunately with the way the world is, a man's word isn't good enough. The second question that arose was, Are the jury to judge the intent and the law? And once again I agree completely. The purpose of the jury is to provide an non-bias opinion of a group of people. There are the ones to judge if someone is guilty or innocent, and if there is enough evidence to go along with the case. They have the option of interpreting the law any way they like to make their decision. 

Blogicon 9/19/08

What are you most proud of on your blog? Why?
Throughout my blogs there are many things for me to feel proud of. One thing that I’m proud of, although it isn’t a common problem for me, but I still feel accomplished whenever I am able to turn a high quality piece of work that was done within the given time. I feel accomplished whenever I am able to turn in, what I feel, is my best writing and piece of work. The blog that I feel has the most information, and portrays how I feel the best is my blog about freedom of speech within a classroom. Because it is an issue I feel strongly about, I was able to write a more personal blog, instead of only stating the facts. Another goal of mine throughout this project was to keep a common template for all of my entries. I want my blogs to be recognized, and to be known that they were written by me. I feel like I achieved them to look uniform, with the image in the same spot, and with they way my writing is. I start with a recap of what I feel are the most important aspects of the article, and then I go on to state my beliefs on it, a class connection, and a personal connection. I feel that this is important not only to make the blog look nicer, but it also gives a sense of character to my blog.

How can we better connect our blogs?
I feel like we can better connect our blogs by working on them in groups or partners together. If we co-write them together, the viewers of our blogs will be able to get different viewpoints and opinions on the different subjects. Some ways we can do this would be to pick the same article/topic, and individually write our blogs on them. Another way we could do this would be to have a blog entry written, and then have someone else go back, read the article and the blog entry, and write there own.

How has blogging impacting your understanding of the US, the media, current events and " old news?"

Blogging has helped me be aware of what is going on throughout of Country and the world by reading the news at least two times a week. I now know what is going on in the world, and it is more relevant to me how we are letting history repeat itself. Blogging has helped me understand the " old news" such as the constitution, federalist papers etc. by showing my current examples. By having to find my own examples, it has also corrected my understanding.

Sex Education to Kindergarten Students?

The Advertisement approved by McCain regarding Obama.

There are different ways to say things, and sometimes what we say is different from what we mean. With the presidential election coming up very soon, a lot of advertisements are going around changing what they have said. For example, I was searching Factcheck.org, and I came across and article, that honestly made me laugh.

The article was about how Barak Obama's one accomplishment would be to teach sex education to kindergarten students. Although in the bill this was stated, this is not what was meant. The way it was worded helps us think that Obama wanted to an extensive explicit sex education for grade schoolers. But actually, The bill would have allowed a gradual, age appropriate information.

I personally believe that a gradual sex education might work best, as long as it starts very basic, and works into the most important things. To many girls are having unwanted pregnancies, and many teens are becoming sexually active at a young age, and it is an issue.

http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm
Article;
Off Base on Sex Ed, September 10, 2008, FactCheck.org.

A Bankrupt bank?

In the beginning of this week, the bank the Lehman brothers filed for bankruptcy while Merrill Lynch sold themselves to Bank of America to avoid serious financial issues. With two banks near or at bankruptcy, Dow Jones stock has tanked, which causes huge controversy. How these banks have allowed themselves to go bankrupt is a common question, but the big question is what do we do now?

My personal opinion, is the more the government does, the more that will need to be redone. Stocks, unfortunately, will fluctuate with nothing we can do to control it. If the government gets involved with the stocks, I think it will defeat the purpose and main ideas behind stocks, that investing is a chance, and you have to go in thinking you will not get the money back.

As for the banks, I think the government should do what we can to stabilize them. The banks aren't something citizens put there money into for chance, people put all there money into the bank for safe keepings. With banks like Bank of America buying Merrill Lynch, it is good because the bank won't have any financial issues, but employees of Merrill Lynch will not loose their job because they won't be needed. I have a family member who is the president of a department for Merrill Lynch, and now due to the combination of companies, he fears for his job.

My opinion on Federalist vs. Anti Federalist is I'm more towards the middle of both. I have some opinions where my beliefs are more towards the Federalist side, and vice versa. It depends on the situation and the personal connection I have towards the issue.


Article;
Lehman Files for Bankruptcy; Merrill is Sold, By Andrew Sorkin, Published on September 15, 2008, The New York Times Online

San Diego Icons

As we finished our first project on American Icons, it got me thinking about other people that inspire me, and different things people do that I am inspired by. While I was reading through different articles about remembering September 11th, I stumbled across an article about a guy in San Diego, who took the day off of work today and the last four years on this day, to wave the American Flag on a bridge overlooking the freeway. By the time I finished reading the article, I subconsciously thought to myself, " Wow, This guy is inspiring!" Here is this ordinary, everyday man who is a hero of the day.

This reminded me of a discussion we had in class today, about how icons can be famous, or they can be as personable as your parents. To be inspiring they don't have to be featured on all of the magazines or newspapers, or all over the news. They can have certain aspects of them and of what they do that we can learn from and relate to. As it turns out this guy is from my neighborhood, and I saw him waving the flag on my way to school this morning.

I think it is important to look at who is inspiring and what they do that is inspiring. Maybe they have one thing, like this man from the article, who does one thing to make him an icon for me, and besides that, I don't know anything about him. This helps me conclude that we can have more than one inspiration in life, and the more inspirations we have, the more we are educated through different opinions, different views and different lifestyles.

Article;
One man's reminder on 9/11 , By Laura Embry, Published on September 11, 2008, San Diego Union Tribune.

Banning Education in a Classroom

A big controversy that seems to occur often in classrooms is the difference between preaching religion and teaching religion through history. In this article it is stated that for this case, the federal judge determined that school officials cannot make a school teacher remove signs inside of his classroom proclaiming, " In God We Trust," " All Men Are Created Equal, They Are Endowed By Their Creator" and various other sayings. It was labeled as " One sided censorship," and they were told there was nothing they could do about it except try again.

Personally I think it should be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. I feel that statements in different contexts can result in different things. This would be the case if we took the anti-federalists point of view. If we were to have local governments that made there own decisions, they could decide in certain cases. The federalists believe in one central government, and with that, the rules and regulations have to be the same throughout the states.

This makes me remember when I was younger, I had a teacher once who would relate everything we learned to the bible. We would talk about math, and he would tell us, using the bible as evidence, how what we were learning came from the bible. But the way he did it made it sound like he was " referencing the bible" instead of preaching it, which is what he was doing. At the time there was a rule allowing referencing as long as it was to show facts vs. opinions. If we were to have a local structure of government, I feel that this teacher could have been stopped, and there would be less students offended by what was being taught in his class.


Article;
Judge rules for teacher in classroom banners case, By Onell Soto, Published September 9, 2008, San Diego Union Tribune.

Hurricane Gustav

We have all been aware of the devastation that is continuing to occur in Mississippi once again with the hurricanes. There has been many articles written on these subjects, delivering information to those not directly effected by the hurricanes. I found this article particularly more interesting than the others because it addresses something different; " What should we do next?"

The article discussed whether or not it was worth it to rebuild their homes. Most of the homeowners interviewed said that at this point it isn't worth it to rebuild it, but at the same time they can't sell their property because it isn't worth anything.

I think the government should intervene and help those in need, like they have done in past years. Many people have lost everything, and it is hard to rebuilt a life and a lifestyle from nothing. At the same time others might protest that they should use their natural resources, and fight for themselves. This related back to the ongoing battle between two philosophers; John Locke, who believed the government should take care of its people, and Thomas Hobbes, who believed in natural rights and than each person should use their own personal powers to fight for themselves.

In a time of need, people need help from those who are not suffering from the same devastation. If you are constantly around those in need of assistance and help to rebuild their lives, it is harder to regain strength and control over your life again.



Article;
To Rebuild or to leave? Damien Cave, September 2, 2008, The New York Times

School Bullying

Lucky for us, we go to a school with students who are respectful, and school bullying isn't as bad as it can be at other schools. If you haven't read the article on the new school rules regarding bullying, the article says the new rules how each school will be required to assign a staff member to whom students can go to with help for student bullying, and the schools are required to post complaints within 24 hours. Our school has been well ahead of this with the advisory program.

This connects to our classroom discussions because we have been talking about life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I believe this connects to it because people should all have the same opportunities to be happy and to live the life they want to live, without other people effecting their lives negatively.

My personal connection to this article, is by coincidence, earlier this week I met the author of the book, Odd Girl Out, Rachel Simmons. Her book focuses on female aggression and meanness within girls. We talked about why girls in particular feel the need to be superior over other girls? Although I haven't come to the conclusion, but I have concluded that this goes against what is stated in the Declaration of Independence.




Article;
New School Rules on Bias Bullying, Associated Press, Published September 3, 2008, New York Times Online