My beliefs on "Designer Babies'

          The article "Designer Babies" by Patricia Smith is about parents being able to give certain traits to there babies before they are born. Parents can choose if their baby is tall or short, athletic or book smart, etc. Researchers are using three people to create a baby that has no birth defects. Doctors are happy and scared with their new discoveries on fertility. I believe that this is the parents decision, so as long as they agree its cool.
          This genetic altering can lead to future genetic research. So parents actually trying this method can help other parents in the future. Diseases can be prevented from this new style of genetics. Scientists have already gotten the genes to prevent these things, now they just need "test subjects." Also, if this actually works, babies are going to be blessed with perfect genes.
         There are some downsides with this new technology though. If the genetic procedure is messed up, there can be serious consequences. If the baby does get abnormally changed, the genes are still inheritable. Also, new diseases could be developed and that is never good. So this method could be dangerous 
too, that's probably why people are opposed to this idea.
          So even though this could be dangerous, I believe its okay if you want to "genetically alter your baby."There are many dangers in this process, its not perfect. New diseases, abnormalities could happen if the genetic process is messed up.  The upsides are still plentiful though. Your idea of a perfect baby, research for the future, new technology, etc. Designer babies would be, as Dr. Alan Cooperman said, "...exiting and scary."

Who was responsible for the death of Romeo and Juliet?

Many people in the story are eligible for this title, Tybalt, Capulet, Montague, etc. But the one who gets the honor is Friar Lawrence. He was the priest of the story, the holy and right figure. He was Romeo’s confidant, not Romeo’s father, Montague. For such a smart man, he made very idiotic choices on his part.

            Friar’s first mistake was marrying Romeo and Juliet secretly. Doing such an important and life-changing thing in secret is never good. When Tybalt tries to fight Romeo, Romeo says no because they are family now. “And so good Capulet, which name I tender/As dearly as mine own, be satisfied.” But Tybalt, for some reason hates Romeo so much, still tries to fight. This leads to the banishment of Romeo.

            His second mess up was when he gave Juliet the concoction to imitate death. If he was going to do something that drastic, more people should have known besides him. He should have let the Nurse know or at least someone that could help. In fact, instead of giving Juliet a sleeping potion, he should have just been safer and told her to run away or something. But things didn’t happen like that.

            His final mistake was that he didn’t deliver the letter with a perfectly reliable person. He sent it with a Friar who didn’t even know that the letter was extremely significant. “The letter was not nice but full of charge…” He should have let the person bearing the letter know that delivering this was a matter of life and death. Or even better, Friar Lawrence should have just delivered the letter himself.

            So I blame Friar Lawrence for the deaths of Romeo and Juliet. He wasn’t the only one who did something wrong, far from it. But he was still a big factor of this outcome. Something good did come out of this tragedy though. The feud between the Montagues and the Capulets was finally over, all thanks to Romeo and Juliet.

Should a Hated Word be Banned? by Jodi Rudoren

In the article, "Should a Hated Word be Banned?" Rabbi Dov Lipman says that "every country has to establish certain value- based limits" to free speech. Do you agree? Why or Why not? Use evidence from the text to support your response.

             My position on this is that I do not agree. Freedom of speech is something people hold dear to them. People do use this part of the amendment to their advantage. One race would call African-Americans the N-word. But we cant do anything about that. And that word is usually used friend-like, not in a demeaning way.
            Reading the article, the author even says most of the time the word Nazi is used, its in a joking way. Like how people will sometimes say "You're such a grammar Nazi." I understand if a word is used in a mean way, but you cannot just ban a word the people use. It wouldn't be cool to ban the phrase "smarty-pants." That is used in a mean way, but it can also be used in a joking or friendly manner.
            Everyone cannot always get what they want. So it wouldn't be fair if your own opinion ruined everybody else's rights. So no, that word Nazi should not be banned. Its as if the politicians are trying to erase the Holocaust piece by piece. Even though they said you should get a fine for that.

Sonnet

Shall I compare thee to the bluest sea
Your style is like mine if I could show it
Your presence washes over me like a hot cup of tea
The force of it makes me ungracefully sit
I've never touched you hair
but I bet its soft
The most I could do when it comes to you is stare
And if you catch me, you should've noticed that I always coughed
I could never look you in the eye
For if I do that, I will surely die

Martín Espada

Martín Espada is a very successful Latino poet that expresses his thoughts about Hispanics rights in his poetry. He is fighting for Latino rights and Hispanic social justice in the United States. But Espada also includes a different idea in some of his famous work. He gives the idea that someone has power in his poems. Sometimes it someone else, a different character, but other times it is him himself.

            In Espada’s poem “The New Bathroom Policy at English High School,” the power gets switched over from the students to the principal. The Spanish students have power over the principal because they can speak Spanish, which the principal cannot. The power is then transitioned when the principal bans Spanish in the bathrooms because he is not comfortable. “…The only word he recognizes/is his own name/and this constipates him…” The principal abuses his power by taking away the students language, which is part of their culture. So the principal is taking away these students culture, and that is definitely abuse of power.

            Another poem called “Two Mexicanos lynched in Santa Cruz, California, May 3, 1877,” Espada shows that the white people had the power. They lynched two innocent Mexicans because of their race, just like they did to African-Americans. The problem was that they didn’t even think about what they had done. He shows this in the last stanza, “…a few stunned/in the blur of execution… all/crowding into the photograph.” The white ‘vigilantes’ as Martín Espada called them, abused their power also. They abused it by taking away people’s lives because of their own wrong beliefs.

            In “Revolutionary Spanish Lesson,” by Martín Espada, he is the one that holds the power! When his name is mispronounced, he says he want to dress up like a criminal. He then gets irrational and says he wants to hijack a tourist bus with white republicans inside, and use them against their will. He says in his poem “…wait/for the bilingual SWAT team/to helicopter overhead/begging me/to be reasonable.” Espada is not using this power he has for good or even reasonable issues. Mispronunciation of a name should not be taken to such great lengths.

            These poems all have a sense of power, but just like in the poems, power in the real world is abused just the same; for example, the government and taxes. Just because they are the government they will raise tax prices, and we can’t really do anything about it except demonstrate. And what about gas prices; they are 4 dollars and on the rise, and we don’t say anything to the government, we just survive. So power is not only a problem in Espada’s poems but in our world too. We just have to live the best we could and ignore it.

Smoke Signals by Alessandra Potenza

How does this text make you think about justice in the world?

         This article is about teen offenders being tried as adults. One teenager, 17, took his own life because he was tried as an adult in a drunken manslaughter. This helped the juvenile justice experts in their decision to help these unsuspecting teens. States all over the country are not taking such drastic measures and are ensuring that teenage offenders do not get sentences like adults. This makes me think that justice is not always fair and can be unreasonable.
       Juvenile justice experts say, according to the article, that teenagers' minds are not fully developed. So even if they commit a crime when they are a teen, it doesn't mean they will become a criminal when they become an adult. So it's not fair that they are locked up with murderers and cold criminals. This information stopped the government from sentencing teens to adult sentences to scare them off the streets. This happened 20 years ago, since then people are trying to keep juvenile offenders in the juvenile system.
       But some people don't agree with all these ways to keep teens out of prison. Some people think that its not fair to the victims of these crimes to let their killer or offender off so easily. People are worried that teenage offenders will start getting off to easy and keep doing crime. 

What's the Deal With Iran? By Patricia Smith

What really hard things are happening in this text? Are they happening in the world now? Where?

        Iran and the U.S. have been rivals since 1953, we have been trying to find a way to make peace between us. The U.S. thinks that Iran has plans to fire nukes, and that is not good. Iran and the U.S. are trying to make treaties and agreements so that doesn't happen. Some people think that this is a bad idea while others support the peacemaking. Young adults from Iran want freedom like the ones in the U.S., so they support this.
        Iran has a problem with the economy that's making living hard. The U.S. put economic sanctions, rules made on another country's economy, on Iran. I guess this is another why Iranian young adults want to go to American. They did this because of the nuclear problems they were having with Iran. I guess they did this for leverage on them or something along those lines.
         This article is happening right now, its about a deal on nukes between Iran and U.S. America thinks that Iran is planning a nuke attack on us and they want to prevent it. The deal is that the U.S. will ease the economic sanctions if Iran pauses their nuclear program for six months. The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu does not agree with the deal and called it "a historic mistake." While others such as Asal Khalilpour, think its a miracle. He said "After i read the comments saying a deal was made, tears started rolling down my cheeks in happiness."

Blue by Rachel Duke

Who has power in your text? How does that power get shown?

      In the story "Blue" by Rachel Duke, a blue blop, named Lulu is bullied because of her color. Basically Lulu is able to accept herself the way she is. The other blops realize that they were being mean and unfair to Lulu. Then they all make after Lulu vents in her head and forgives them. 
       At the beginning to the middle, the other blops have the power. They bully Lulu, screaming at her and ignoring her.They don't allow her to play with them just because she is blue. They basically control what she can and cannot do. But that changes toward the end of the book.
       At the end of the book, when Lulu tried becoming like them , she realized that she doesn't look like herself. So she starts to accept herself the way she is, and shes blue. The other blops confront her angrily saying she never asked to be one of them, but Lulu lets them know she didn't like being bullied. When the other blops think it over, they realized she was right so they apologized to her in hopes for her forgiveness. She thinks about it and agrees, so now none of them have power of each other, they are all equal.

The Bravest Girl in the World by Unknown

How different are people allowed to be in this text? Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?

          In the text The Bravest Girl in the World, a girl is shot in the head because she supports education for girls in Pakistan. Her dad built a school for the girls and according to her description of first day of school, she was excited. She described learning as if it was interesting and that she loved it. The Taliban then came and shot her in hopes to shut her up. It didn't work.
          People, or in this case girls, are not allowed to be very different. To be specific, they are not allowed to learn. So when Malala dared to speak out, they tried to eliminate her. But she survived and is still talking. This is a very sexist topic, women are not allowed to learn because well, they're women.
          This text does not assume everyone is happy, in fact everyone is scared. Girls are scared that they will be next being shot. They are scared that they will not be able to learn anymore. But there is hope, because Malala is now in a different place and still speaking out against the Taliban. She even got a Noble peace Prize or her purpose. And she will keep speaking for as long as he needs to get her point across.

And Tango Makes Three By Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

How different are people allowed to be in this text? Does it assume everyone is happy and good in the same ways?

                People or in this case, penguins, are allowed to be any way they want to be. Roy and Silo, the main characters are gay, and are okay with that. No place in the text suggests that having a different sexuality is frowned upon. If anything, being different is encouraged. This shows that everyone accepts everybody even though they are different.
          The story does assume everyone is happy at first. The authors say "...they did everything together" then later goes on to say that Roy and Silo are in love. And if you are in love, then you are probably happy. They also say that Roy and Silo didn't pay much attention to the girls and vice versa.  This, to me just shows that everybody is content with the way they live.
            But the authors also show a sad side of the story, which is the conflict. Roy and Silo see the other couples laying eggs and getting baby penguins. But they cant do that since they are both males. So the author gives a sense of hopelessness of Roy and Silo's problem. But then the author resolves this problem by letting the penguin keeper intervene and give them an egg. This story shows acceptance and being what you want to be.


         

Terrible Things by Eve Bunting

How does this text deal with individuals and groups? Are the people acting alone and in competition with one another, or does the text help us imagine people working together?

           In the story Terrible Things by Eve Bunting, there is a lesson of standing up for what you know is right. Every time the terrible things come, the animals look out for themselves and not the animals that are getting taken. The big rabbit even tells the little rabbit to, "Just mind your own business..." Every time a animal is taken, the others just say they were annoying and rude anyway, and turn the other way. This story is just and allegory of the Holocaust.
          This text shows that every group is different and the terrible things don't like anything different from them, so they take them. The animals in this story are definitely acting alone and in competition with one another. Every time the terrible things ask for one characteristic everyone else says, "We don't have that" or, "I don't have this". And the animals never try to help each other, they just ignore the ones getting taken away. And just like in Eve Bunting's foreword, the animals ignored their cries for help.
          The text most certainly does not lead us to imagine people working together. The animals are very selfish and don't care about anyone else but their species. It even says in the text that, "The rabbits and porcupines looked everywhere, except at each other." Showing that if one or the other got taken , the free animals would not lift a finger to help. And at the end of the story, all the animals were taken except the little rabbit because they did not work together.

Social Justice Research Project

Choose an Article Dealing With Injustice from a Newspaper, Magazine, or Online News Website.

Justice Denied by Dan Barry, Campbell Robertson, and Robbie Brown. Upfront Magazine pg. 8

I chose this article because it shows how racial prejudice affects people’s lives. These two men, Charles Moore and Henry Dee, were tortured and then drowned because they were African- Americans. Most of the people did nothing except be who they are. Groups such as the KKK and the Nazis are wrong for discriminating against races other than theirs’. Their thoughts and actions are twisted and disgusting. This makes me think, why should I judge people on how they look? Why not get to the person first and then judge them on their personality.

Letter To Ms. Berner About Banning Books

Dear Ms. Berner,

Young adult fiction is just that, young adult fiction. Adults cannot try to understand something that is meant for kids. And if they do read a YA book, they have to get the meaning, not just the "bad references." When these adults want to ban books, they are censoring kids' views of the world. Young adult books that have "inappropriate" content help kids get over their problems, and therefore should not be banned from 6th grade libraries.

Bill Moyers said, "A lie can be exposed, but censorship can prevent us from knowing the difference." Simply meaning, a lie can be discovered; but if the lie is censored, you will never know the truth. If you take away the plot, the improper topics, we will never know the whole story. 6th graders need to read books to get the knowledge of our world. But if we try to read these books without the "dark subjects" we miss the true meaning of the book.

According to Ellen Hopkins, author of several NY bestsellers, her books help people turn their lives around. Hopkins explains in her article, Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto, "...straight down into the same hell my book represented so well. But one day, she found that book. She saw herself in those pages, and suddenly knew she didn't want to be there.” So this lady read Ellen Hopkins' book, Crank, and turned her life around. Because she didn't want to end up like the character in the book.

             Meghan Cox Gurdon claims in her article, Darkness Too Visible, that, “teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is.” Basically saying YA books portray life disgustingly and lie about what life really is. But this is not true because the issues in these books happen in real life. William Porter, another person supporting banning books even admitted that, “these darker books reflect what today's faster-maturing teens routinely see in their multimedia world,” in his article, Teen Fiction Plots are Darker and Starker. Confirming that teens see these “horrible” topics almost every day.

            So banning books would not be helpful at all. “I don’t write to protect them. It’s far too late for that. I write to give them weapons–in the form of words and ideas-that will help them fight their monsters.” Sherman Alexie says in his article, Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood. Kids going through traumatic times don’t have to be protected and won’t have anything to connect with. The bad and vulgar topics make the story. The books that are “inappropriate” can help kids get though their problems and shouldn’t be banned from 6^th grade libraries.

                                                                                                               Respectfully,

                                                                                                                               Rachel Duke

"Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie

       The article "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood" by Sherman Alexie, is a counterargument to Megan Cox Gurdon's, "Darkness Too Visible". Gurdon's article claims that Young Adult fiction is too vulgar and inappropriate for young adults. While Alexie's article claims that the topics of these "inappropriate will not traumatize an already abused kid. I agree with Alexie's proposal, because he gives examples of his claim, Gurdon does not expand on her thoughts.
       In Alexie's article, he says "Does Ms. Gurdon honestly believe that a sexually explicit YA novel might somehow traumatize a teen mother? Does she believe that a YA novel about murder and rape will somehow shock a teenager whose life has been damaged by murder and rape? " To show that many kids have already went through these experiences. He goes on to use himself as an example of this claim. "They wanted to protect me from sex when I had already been raped. They wanted to protect me from evil though a future serial killer had already abused me." This proves his claim and is an example that he gives supporting details to his argument.
       On the contrary, Megan Cox Gurdon does not support her claims with examples. When she says "It has to do with a child's happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart." But then she never expands on this idea. She goes on to ask what do you think is a child's mind when reading a YA novel. As if she knows, but in Alexie's article, he recounts a real story of a teenager telling him what was on his mind.
       So, is YA fiction too dark? Is a good inquiry, but the way Gurdon explains it is not good enough to compare to Alexie's argument of the benefits of these books.

"Where Your Cellphone Goes to Die" by Leyla Acaroglu

     
        I don't think it would take a lot for the U.S. to recycle e-trash in a safer, more healthy way. The article talks about how countries like China and India have to deal with U.S. waste. The author also explains why sifting though e-trash can be unhealthy. And why coming up with a different way to dispose of  e-trash is really needed.
        The article says, "...covering their hands and feet with toxic flecks of it as they work." This shows that toxic things have a way to get into these boys' bodies. And that it is unhealthy to dig through e-trash, because of the chemicals. The author also said, "...lead, cadmium, and mercury... can cause neurological damage..." The author explains how the toxins affect the children and women in India.
        According to the author, the U.S. has tried to lower the amount of e-trash that we send to other countries. The article says, "The Responsible Electronic Recycling Act... would make it illegal to export toxic waste from the U.S." So they have tried to change their ways., but apparently it isn't enough. For the quote goes on to explain that congress never voted on it.
      This is the author's argument, change the U.S. e-trash ways. I agree with her, the government should try harder. People are suffering from sickness just to get a little bit of money. We need to at least help them in some way.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

         In my book, there are alot of issues around violence. The characters must find a way to deal with them. And sometimes they're not always dealt with in the right way.
         On page 28, Tessa had to escape the Dark Sisters. But she might have been too violent to Miranda, the clockwork maid. "... and swung it with all her might at Miranda's head. It connected with a sickening sound." Tessa might have done too much here.
        Then, on page 31, the Dark Sisters are very cruel to Tessa. They use Nathaniel's, Tessa's brother, life to get her to do what they want. "Nathaniel will not be so fortunate." They bribed Tessa using the death of her brother.
         So, problems in my book are dealt with using brutality and cruelty. I think the way the characters deal with things to rashly and could be dealt with better.

"Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya

        War effects more than Just the soldiers on the battlefield. In the story "Faithful Elephants" by Yukio Tsuchiya, the three elephants at the Ueno Zoo payed with their life at the war's expense. Their trainer suffered because of the elephant's pain. And the people in the zoo lost three close friends.
        The elephants, John, Tonkey, and Wonley, all suffered greatly because of the war. "'By and by, it came time for the elephants to be killed.'" John was first, the elephant keeps tried to poison him; but when that didn't work, they starved him to death. Tonkey and Wonley were then, also starved to death.
        The trainer who trained the elephants, did not physically suffer. But he had to watch 3 things he loved, die. "'You poor,poor, pitiful elephants!'" These elephants were killed because the army thought they were dangerous. So the trainer had to watch these elephants die over a thought.
        Finally, the people in the zoo suffered just like the trainer. They had to watch 3 innocent elephants, die. But the people had to also watch a person who loved them very much, mourn over them as the died, everyday."'...then stroked the elephants' legs and trunks in sorrow.'"
        "Faithful Elephants" encourages the reader to see the deaths of civilian animals, and also to show how war affects soldiers as well as innocence.

"City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare

                Over the summer, I read "City of Bones" by Cassandra Clare, again. Clary Fray, the main character, is thrown into a world of monsters and death but is still able to appear steady. She finds out she was never who she thought she was. Inside she feels scared and overwhelmed, but outside she stays cool. This happens throughout all parts of the book in different ways.
                On page 12, it says "'I'm not going anywhere,' Clary said. 'If i do you'll kill him.'" This shows that even though she is in the middle of three killers, and might be really scared, she'll still stand up to them. She is raging with emotion inside, but cool and collected on the out side. Also, on page 167, "She said nothing, biting the inside of her lip. She hated the idea of someone reaching inside her head..." This sentence shows that on the inside she hates an idea, but on the outside, she only expresses nervousness because of biting her lip. Two different emotions at the same time.
               The book was great. So much detail put into the character's emotions makes it seem like you are Clary inside the book. Clary's emotions really helps the reader understand how she really feels about things. Even though her emotion is totally different on the outside.