The Power of Technology

As this year has truly opened my eyes to global issues, one issue that is very applicable to me and many of my peers is the use of technology.  Technology is what we use to communicate with others, to entertain ourselves, and even to learn.  I'm doing my English final on a blog on the internet for crying out loud!  Most of my classes require that I have a phone, computer, or even tablet to complete assignments nowadays.  Technology is so vital to our society, and it seems as though it would be weird to live without it.

Although technology can have a bad reputation, I strongly believe that technology is what created the best experience I could have had in AP Language and Composition.  I took this course to learn how to write, while also getting the great opportunity to learn about authors, controversial issues, and how to express myself.  With the use of technology, we have been able to watch speeches of people such as Martin Luther King Jr. and JFK.  We have been able to watch interviews, see and read the news to begin a discussion, read other students' writing to get inspiration, and we were even able to share our own work with other students for feed back.  To be honest, before coming to this class, I was sort of scared of technology.  I had no social media, and I was a rookie smart-phone-user.  After taking this class, I look forward to sharing my opinions with others and I even read (and follow) the news on social media to stay in touch with the world.  I have really opened up, and have changed as a person in some subtle ways.  I have embraced change in order to learn and move forward.  The incredible experience from this one class has made me change my habits, my views, and my way of expression that I hope to carry on with me for the rest of my life.

The following is an excerpt from an essay I wrote, called "A Vast Thriveland, a Vast Wasteland: The Power of the Internet". I argue about the positives and negatives that technology (specifically the internet) can have on society.  For me however, technology has opened doors, especially for learning and thriving in AP Language and Composition. 

 

A Vast Thriveland, a Vast Wasteland: The Power of the Internet

            Newton Minow addresses the power of television to the National Association of Broadcaster in May of 1961 to his audience.  Very seriously, he makes a reasonable claim that although television does has limitless capabilities, he does not agree that all of those capabilities are for the good.  However in the “Vast Wasteland” address, his assertion of having the responsibilities be carried out by the government is incorrect.  Much like the awesome power of television, the internet in today’s modern technology creates good and evil influence.  It provides people knowledge of occurrences in the world, but is not always beneficial to society, and definitely should not be controlled by government.

            The internet provides easy access to news in an instance, whether it be local, national, or even international news.  From this technology, our world view is broadened, we become informed citizens, and essentially have front-row seats to history whenever and wherever we are.  Above all, news keeps mankind safe in emergencies.  In New York City on September 11^th 2001, a group of Muslim terrorists destroyed the Twin Towers, resulting in about 3,000 deaths.  Once this had occurred, the internet was a valuable resource for keeping the nation and rest of the world updated on the terrorist attack.  As a result, people not only became informed, but also became aware and cautious of other people and their own surroundings for their own safety, all because of the good influence of the internet.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mv_CnbCJW_btRM8BI-n9NErnrHjifsn2iWoEB1kYSLk/edit

Freshman Year Honors English vs. Junior Year AP English

People are always telling stories.  Every society on the face of the planet tells stories in one form or another.  I love writing because when I write, I feel connected to my deepest humanity. Writing is the one area in my life where I get to have absolute control.  Writing affords me a chance each and every day to just sit with my thoughts and be still. I believe that it's important to sit and be quiet with yourself and your thoughts. Although it can sometimes be stressful in AP English, writing for me is very meditative and calming, and helps to keep me peaceful in a very frantic world.  Writing can also become a challenge, but that is what can make it fun.

My like for writing began during Freshman year in Ms. Gillis' classroom.  It became my favorite class, as I loved the books we read, the discussions we had, the projects we did, and the free write journal entries we had to complete daily.  Looking back, that class was a breeze!  Just like any other freshman year English class, we often did creative writing, had vocabulary tests on words we were already familiar with, wrote one essay every month or so, and discussed books everyday.  If you simply payed attention in class and did your easy homework, you earned an A!

                      Accurate representation of how you may feel during freshman year English

Now fast forward to AP Language and Composition, where we read a novel in a week, write at least one essay a week, have vocabulary tests on strange words we have never heard of before, and did at least one to two hours of homework a night.  You have to fight to get into a heated discussion sometimes...that's right...no hand raising is necessary! So, receiving an A is not so easy as before.  Even though this class challenged me and made me work hard for even a B, it made me realize that sometimes getting a lower grade and learning a lot is better than getting an A and just easy sailing, like in years past.  The grade does not always matter.  It's the experience.

                    Accurate representation of how you may feel during junior year AP English (sometimes)

 

For those who believe that English class will always be an easy A:

 

 

 

Let's Talk about Synthesis

Although writing a synthesis was not as exciting for me compared to writing a rhetorical analysis or argument, it came easily to me.  Having taken AP U.S. History sophomore year, along with taking AP World History this year, I was well oriented with DBQs, which are similar to what is provided for writing a synthesis.  However, writing syntheses helped to strengthen my ability to use what is already given to me to write an essay.  It was like writing a DBQ and not having to talk about history, but rather talking about things more applicable to my own life, which is much more enjoyable. 

When the annual essay came around, I'm not going to lie, I was not dreading it as much as many others did!  Annual essays are like a mix of argument and synthesis:  I simply created my own argument to answer the question asked, then I would use the sources I searched up to support my stance.  I wrote my annual essay on the obesity epidemic, and answered the common question of: Whose fault is it?  As the obesity epidemic is at an all-time high and is seen all around, I felt comfortable with talking about such a popular subject.  I liked how I was able to put my debating skills to use, while also having some practice with writing a synthesis.  The essay did not even take very long to write, since I already had an interest and background knowledge on the subject.  I wrote to the best of my ability, hoping that it would be a good start to the beginning of the third term. 

 

When I got it back, I was in awe.  I had just received my first 100 in this class!  It was essentially the best essay I had written this whole year!  I was very proud and excited that I, the girl who struggled to change her writing habits at the beginning of the year, actually was capable of getting an A+ on an essay in a college level class.  It made me more confident in myself and my writing.  Although I wasn't very phased with the synthesis topic as a whole, I found it helpful in tying in everything we learned throughout the year.  I also learned that it's never a bad thing to repeat something you already know how to do.  I strongly believe that as a result of doing syntheses prompts, I improved in writing rhetorical analyses and arguments, since it connects many different ideas together.  It even helped me receive a 98 on an AP World history in-class DBQ!  So even if the synthesis topic seemed like something  I had done before, it helped build up my writing in other aspects of my academic career.


A picture of the DBQ I got a 98 on, which was partly a result of the practice of writing syntheses

The following is my annual essay, titled "Obesity: Whose Responsibility is it?"

Margarita Forbes

Ms. McMahon

AP Language and Composition

February 5, 2015

Obesity: Whose responsibility is it?

In the United States, the obesity epidemic has gone out of control within the last few years, as more than one-third (36%) of U.S. adults were obese in 2009-10, up from an estimated 15% in 1980, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The obesity epidemic is particularly worrisome and increasingly intractable as it becomes entrenched among children and adolescents as well. The CDC now estimates that about one in five Americans between the ages of six and nineteen are obese, two to three times the rate in 1980.  Despite new policies and programs for the bettering of people’s health, and even offering healthier food options along with the nutritional value insight in the fast food industry, individual citizens are the ones at fault for increasingly making the problem worse year after year.  However, when policy makers fail in effectively making the U.S. healthier, when fast food is unnatural and therefore unhealthy, and genetics play a crucial part in the way your body is, a person’s health is responsible by the decisions one makes for him or herself. 

People, especially those who are close to us such as parents, are influential to the lives of those around them.  For example, children adopt the habits of their parents. Patricia Leo, a nutrition professor from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, states “A child who has overweight parents who eat high-calorie foods and are inactive will likely become overweight too. However, if the family adopts healthy food and physical activity habits, the child's chance of being overweight or obese is reduced” (“What Causes Overweight and Obesity?”).  Cristen Ollie, a fifteen year-old former overweight child, shares what her experience on how her parents change of lifestyle, changed hers as well. “When I was younger, I was on the edge of being obese, and was often fed the food that my parents ate, which was often unhealthy.  But, once they started having health problems, they changed their eating habits, which inevitably changed mine.  They are the reason why I used to be obese, and the reason why I am now healthy.”  The way people close to you live, is often the way that you live, as a result of being influenced by one another, hence why unhealthy eating can result from people in your life.  Nowadays with the obesity epidemic, food industries are not to blame, as they now are encouraging healthy eating habits by providing more nutritious alternatives for those who want to eat healthy.  Policy makers are doing the same, as First Lady Michelle Obama's “Let's Move” campaign and the CDC's Communities “Putting Prevention to Work” program, help educate consumers, children and adolescents in particular, and encourage all to engage in healthy lifestyle habits such as physical activity and good eating (Heather).  Policy makers and fast food industries are attempting to fix the epidemic, while individual citizens make the problem more serious.

For those who suffer from obesity, change can be made; it just takes determination and will-power by that same person.  People have the choice whether or not to be obese or not.  In the United States, people have the option to exercise at their leisure or not, and even have the option of buying junk food or healthy food.  It is up to the people themselves of whether they want to make a difference.  “It’s tough for individuals to make the healthy choices that are so important to a good quality of life and a healthy weight.  Obesity and its causes have, in many ways, become woven into the fabric of our society,” explained Dr. T. H. Chan from the Harvard School of Public Health.  Fast food industries, such as McDonald’s and Subway, now often have menus with the nutritional values and amount of calories in a serving of a certain food for people to be more aware of what they are going to eat.  People can see what the nutritional value of the food is, and then make a decision on whether or not to purchase it, as they have the option.  Policy makers even try to make it easier for those who are trying to be healthy, by putting healthier food options into schools, and taking out sugary sodas and other drinks.  For example, in the 2012-2013 school year, HSC (Healthy Schools Campaign) debuted a revamped school lunch menu with higher nutrition standards for over 25 million students around the nation. The revised standards included smaller portion sizes, twice as many servings of produce and only fat-free or low-fat milk.  Advocate Muna Husain mentions how beneficial the program is when saying, “We are supporting higher nutrition standards beyond the National School Lunch Program, such as limiting fast food and unhealthy vending machine options.”  Policy makers are now reaching out to schools to make the U.S. healthier, and fast food industries are making people more aware of what they are putting into their bodies, so that individual citizens make better choices for themselves.

            Although much of obesity is a result from individual citizens, that may not always be the case, and more importantly, policy makers and the food industry may also contribute to the downfall of U.S. health.  Government policy plays a crucial role in our food system. Decisions made in Washington about how government supports and regulates American agriculture have far-reaching impacts on what food is available, what it costs, and how it is produced.  Current U.S. food policy is a major contributor to the failures of our food system—making junk food cheaper, healthy food more expensive, and sustainable farming more difficult (Stossel).  The fast food industry, although having many healthy options, is often full of unnatural and premade ingredients that may be harmful to the body.  Avid McDonald’s eater, James Cran, explains how the unnatural ingredients affect him: “I do frequently eat McDonald’s, but I know that much of their food is processed and not natural, so it can’t be as healthy as they say.”  Also, health can be genetic, therefore it may not always be controllable. Studies of identical twins who have been raised apart show that genes and environment have a strong influence on a person's weight (Whiteman). Overweight and obesity tend to run in families.  However, by exercising and following a healthy diet, older people can lower their risk of illnesses and diseases like that of obesity. Adults over 65 who already have coronary artery disease can lower the danger of heart attacks by as much as 45% (“What Causes Overweight and Obesity?”).  "Staying healthy is still mostly a matter of the choices we make," said Brenna Ellison, a researcher from the University of Illinois.  Therefore, making choices of whether or not to exercise and follow policies to better your health, or whether or not to have junk food or not, is up to you-You are responsible for your own destiny of health.  Policy makers do not always make quality or effective regulations, the fast food industries repeatedly do not make food that is not as healthy as it seems, and genetics and environment will ever play a part in the health state of your body.  However, choices one makes of how to treat and feed their body is the true driving force of one’s health.

            The obesity epidemic rising is one to be concerned about, as  more than one-third (36%) of U.S. adults were obese, and about one in five Americans between the ages of six and nineteen are now obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Although there are new programs made by policy makers for the bettering of people’s health, and healthier food options are now available in the fast food industry, individual citizens are at fault for increasingly making the epidemic sustain itself, but yet, can have the power to change it.  Even when policy makers fail in effectively making the U.S. more healthy, fast food is processed and therefore unhealthy, and genetics and surroundings play a crucial part in the way your body is, a person’s health comes down to the choices they make for their own body, whether that means eating right or exercising more. 

My Eyes have been Opened

Coming out of Rhetorical Analysis and proceeding into Argument was a little sad for me, as I grew to really like writing about and finding underlying devices in magazines, books, and even on television.  However, argument provided something different for me: It opened my eyes to the world.  By writing argument essays, I was required to not only use personal experiences to convey my point, but to also use outside knowledge of what went/is going on in the world to answer controversial questions I had to take a stance on.  As a result of using such insight, I began to be more opinionated and aware of certain situations around the globe.  These situations ranged from past and modern-day terrorism, racism, and gun-control, to gender roles, athletics, and government.  What stood out to me (and is still an interest of mine to this day) is education.  Yes, I am a fan of education, but what is interesting about education, is how it perceived throughout the world.  In the United States, education is a privilege.  People actually leave their own countries to receive the quality education that this country has to offer.  However, many other countries in the world see education as a right.  For example, in the Middle East, it is common for males to have the right to an education and females to have none.  My interest for the view on education grew even more when we began to discuss Malala in AP English. As a young girl, Malala Yousafzai defied the Taliban in Pakistan and demanded that girls be allowed to receive an education. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012, but survived, and later became the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize for her fight for female education.  Ms. McMahon told us that we would be discussing controversial issues, but I never knew that I would be so passionate about them.  Taking a stance on a topic and writing about it, really made me enhance my debating abilities, made me more opinionated (in a good way), and reminded me that there are more serious and important things going on outside of Woburn (which seems to be my bubble).

The following is a short essay I wrote, titled "What is education to you?", which was assigned to us after our discussion about Malala and the different views on education.

Margarita Forbes

January 12, 2015

What is education to you?       

Malala Yousafzai, a teenage Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate, once said that she wanted to tell students in the UK that having the freedom to go to school is "very precious".  Education is such a thing that helps us to gain self-confidence and lead a successful life in future. It introduces us to the world of science and technology, what our world revolves around today. Moreover, education doesn't mean only to memorize, in fact it means to gain practical knowledge and understand the reality and world around us.   Education means broadening my horizons, better communication, and recognizing my place in the civilization I've been born into.

However, many students, especially in first world countries, do not realize how “precious” education truly is.  They won’t always pay attention, will sleep in class, skip class, and may even drop out of school altogether.  We need to appreciate education more in today's society, especially in first world counties like that of the U.S. or the UK. Education is the most powerful asset one can have, as it's the groundwork on which all great achievements are made and fosters positive change in the world, such as the creation of new inventions and new ideas. 

But, in countries like that of Pakistan where Malala Yousafzai lives, children envy the education system in other counties.  Sixteen-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for being outspoken about her country’s education system. The Pakistani government spends seven times more on its military than on education and banned girls from attending school. Pakistan’s literacy rate is among the lowest in the world, with the number of school aged children who don’t attend school is second highest globally.  An estimated 25 million school age children are missing an education in Pakistan- at least 13 million of them are girls. Malala and many other students of the third country are deprived of the education they deserve to have a brighter future and more opportunities for accomplishments.  Being deprived of education simply makes students want to learn that much more.  Children continue being denied their basic human right- the right to learn.

The Taliban is just one obstacle that Pakistanis face, especially the girls.  Other obstacles include poverty, harassment and the government’s failure to prioritize education.  Both sexes suffer but girls have lower rates of literacy and school attendance.  What students in countries like the U.S. and the UK do not realize is that while we take education for granted, others would gladly like to be in our place.  We live in the type of country where there is a constant sense of security, a secure economy, and definitely a prioritization of education.

For me, a usual school day starts with waking up and then getting myself ready for school.  Then, I get driven there by my dad.  I have seven classes throughout my day, with a lunch break in the middle of the day in the building which is fairly new, being built a mere nine years ago.  At the end of the school day, I walk back home.  There are also so many activities you can get involved in at my school, such as sports or clubs.  However, for someone like Malala, life like mine is not so simple.  Her school day (if school is open that day), consists of being in the small and run down building while in constant fear of the Taliban finding her and the rest of the students. Activities after school do not exist, since many have to get home to take care of and help family School is not constant, as it is common for it to close as a result of the government or because of the Taliban coming.  Yet, it is incredible to believe that while we have education at our finger tips, we do not cherish it as much as others who are deprived of it.

No More Organizer, No More Structure?

Most teachers throughout my elementary school, middle school, and even high school career would require us students to fill out organizer sheets to prepare for an essay.  The repetitive structure was as follows: introduction, illustration and explanation, illustration and explanation, illustration and explanation, conclusion. 

As junior year English was somewhat of a sudden awakening, the changes I needed to make were drastic.  For example, at the start of the year I wrote my first in-class essay on the (rhetorical) devices that Laura Hillenbrand used in Unbroken.  I remember thinking to myself, What does that even mean?  I stared at the blank lined paper for five minutes with everything about the book going through my head, yet not knowing how to express it while also answering the question.  And of course, being the scared AP Language and Composition student I was, I raised my hand (a bad habit I never broke) and asked Ms. McMahon “How long should this essay be?” The simple response I got was “However long you want it to be.”  Although many would see this as a great way to write as much as they would like, I saw this as a problem.  What was a going to do without my beloved cookie-cutter structure? I didn’t exactly know how to answer the question (as this was my very first rhetorical analysis), let alone not be given a limit on how many paragraphs/pages to write.  So, I did what any scared AP Language and Composition student would do: word vomit all over the paper.  I simply wrote whatever I knew about the book, while also trying to answer the question…trying is the key word.  This rhetorical analysis evaded the question, was not direct, and most of all, included myself and my first-person opinion on the novel.  I received a five (which, fun fact, is the lowest grade I have ever received on any in-class essay this year).  Over time and through practice, I had to adapt to change in order to receive a better grade.  I'm not one to change my ways very easily, as it requires a lot for me to understand something and therefore apply those changes.  So when I received that grade,  was mortified.  It was an okay grade to start out with, but I was scared that I wouldn't be able to improve as fast as anyone else, or even improve at all.

One Monday, I walked into class and picked up an agenda, like usual.  Little did everyone know, Ms. McMahon had surprised us with a week's worth of rhetorical analysis for homework! And they were to be graded by our peers, which made it even more stressful.  (Little did past Margarita know at the time, future Margarita would be capable of whipping up a quality rhetorical analysis in less than 45 minutes.)  I remember that week being so brutal, but it was what truly made my rhetorical analysis writing solid.  I learned to love that there is no cookie-cutter structure to follow in a rhetorical analysis, or in any writing.  That is what makes writing so freeing and flexible, as I can write what ever I needed to get my point across.  That week was providing me practice every night, along with constructive criticism from Ms. McMahon and my peers.  I learned that it was okay for me to not get things right away, because with practice came progress.  I proved to myself that I could get better, even if it was at my own pace, and even if it was something new I was learning.  I then believed what Ms. McMahon had told me all this time: "You can only get better".  I then had a better outlook on the rest of what the year had to offer in that class, and I felt more confident in my writing.  Even if I got a bad grade every now and then throughout the year, I knew that things could only get better if I accepted what had to change.

 

The evolution of my rhetorical analysis writing: from the 5 of Unbroken, to the 7/8 of "I am a Cripple" and to the 7/8 of the Paret rhetorical analysis

 

Fluff: My Weakness

When I was a young fourteen year old, I was obsessed with fluff. The sweet spread was like a snack to me, as I would put it into sandwiches, on graham crackers, and even by itself on a spoon to eat.  One day, my mom found a whole Fluff jar empty after a mere few days after the purchasing of the product, since yours truly ate all the marshmallow goodness.  Needless to say, my mother never bought fluff for the household again, in an attempt to change an unhealthy habit of mine.  As a result, I have been deprived, but have accepted this positive change.  Fluff however had come back to haunt me when I started AP Language and Composition.  English had been my favorite subject during freshman and sophomore year, so I entered the class with very high expectations, and with an eagerness to improve on my writing for the Bull's Eye and for my future as a college student.  Little did I know, my writing was very flawed.  The fluff in my writing consisted of unnecessary details that served no purpose in what I was trying to convey, therefore I had become  "The Fluff Queen".  It was difficult to see what I, as a writer, was trying to focus on.  Fortunately, I was made aware of this issue early on, and was able to make corrections faster.  What I had been told through my previous years in school was the constant phrase, "the more detail the better".  AP Language and Composition made me realize that sometimes you have to change and adjust your habits in order to move forward with success.  Adding in fluff was what I had been doing since elementary school, so coming into Junior year English was a sudden awakening for me.  As a result, I had to change my way of writing to achieve a new level of expertise and sophistication.  I had to change my way of thinking by becoming more straight forward in my essays and my participation in class discussions.  I had to change my way of expressing myself and my opinions.  Although scary, this year's class has taught me that change can be something to embrace.