Multi-genre Research Proposal

                                     The Essence of Standardized Tests
    All my life I have been preparing, preparing for a test that will help solve all my problems, and lead me into a successful future. As children we are taught that the ACT and the SAT are the most important tests that we will ever take. These tests ultimately determine our future, whether we will make it into our dream college, or our last resort. I understand that standardized tests are an aspect of life, but should they be?
     I want to research this topic to help promote individualism in schools. People shouldn't be expected to live by the same standards because in the work place that isn't what is expected. Everyone should be tested on their talents not on their weaknesses. This topic will be very interesting. I can not wait to evaluate other countries methods of testing and understand the best possible way to lead students to success.

Multi-Genre Analysis Post; Education and Poverty

         Lack of Education is directly correlated with Poverty
      
         Poverty is a widespread issue when looking into every nation. There are nearly one billion people in poverty representing one-fifth of the worlds population. Now, due to this excessive need for poverty reduction there must be steps taken to eliminate this problem. "In 2011, nearly 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty" which is equivalent to nearly 15% of the population.
      
       But when we specifically look to "dropout rates of 16 to 24-years-old students who come from low income families are seven times more likely to drop out than those from families with higher incomes." There is a direct correlation with education and poverty. Honestly, reducing the poverty rate will only come with increasing education.
                                                                                                                  A Link to the Page

 

    It is vital for the future to educate our youth, but this wont be an easy process. I believe that by seeing an increase in the literacy rate we will see a significant decline in the amount of poverty plaguing the world today. Now, it is impossible to entirely eliminate these issues, but by reducing the harmful effects they have to our everyday lives we will see a dramatic increase in productivity.

 

     I truly feel that education is what makes the world go around. It will honestly be very interesting for me to look directly into what we can do nationally, and globally.

 

    This topic really catches my attention because I understand from looking into previous  topics that poverty is much more prominent in areas with suffering education.. Now, my personal belief is that education is the foundation of our lives. I feel like we need to take every step necessary to reduce these two problems. I will thoroughly enjoy my research and understanding the possible solutions to help eliminate this problem.

Millenium Goals Response

 

 

Universal Education

Nelson Mandela wisely noted that, "Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world." Now, education is so essential when focusing on the future. It is vital to educate our youth all around the world because those are our future leaders.
   
    Currently there are 58 million children that are not in school and are not being educated. Now, this is a problem because there is a direct correlation between poverty and lack of education.
   
   Fortunately, There has been a significant increase in enrolment it has increased by 8% in the ten years, but there are still 10% of children not being educated. This problem has significantly decreased since the 90s, but it still remains a problem. Now, there has been steps taken to reduce this problem, but we need to take larger steps to accomplish our goal.
  
   "Even as countries with the toughest challenges have made large strides, progress on primary school enrolment has slowed. One in ten children of primary school age was still out of school in 2012."  Even after continually trying to reduce the problem, we can see that there is still a significant problem. We need to continue to take steps to reduce this problem.

    I believe that without educating the youth we will lack a bright future. A wise man stated that "If you give a man a fish you feed him for a day, but if you teach him to fish, you'll feed him for a lifetime." Now this is vital in todays society with the significant changes currently occurring. Education will help reduce problems.

   Now, this matters to me because I feel like education is so important and we need to help these youth around the world that are poverty stricken and have no way to escape. Education will and is the most powerful tool, and it will change the world.
   

Article Response One

Better Grammar Means Better Jobs;

This article ultimately summarizes that people who use better grammar often see greater success. While reviewing this article I noticed this passage it states that,
  
   "Grammarly recently conducted a study of the grammar used in LinkedIn member profiles. They found that people with fewer grammar errors in their profiles ascended to higher positions, got more promotions and changed jobs more often."
                                                                                                                 This is a link to the article.
 
   I found this extremely interesting. While reading this article I realized that you need grammar in your everyday life, while writing English papers, and also filling out job applications. Its very important to present yourself as knowledgeable. Employers do not want an unintelligent workforce. Also, this is relatable to my life because whenever I turn in a college application, or a scholarship application I try to review it to the best of my ability. I think it looks careless when individuals send in applications without checking their work for grammatical errors.

    "Over-reliance on adverbs is common among writers trying to sound professional. For example, many assume that "I feel badly" is correct. But in fact, due to what are called copular verbs, the correct choice is usually "I feel bad." To say you feel badly means you do a poor job of touching things."
                                                                                                                  This is a link to the article.
 
  Also, this is just an example of the little mistakes people can make. While interviewing it is important to use the correct language. While learning to use appropriate grammar while writing, it is also important to use correct grammar and language while speaking.

Grammar has proven important in many aspects of life; in this article alone we see a plethora of opportunity given by a firm grip on the English language, especially in the world of work and school. With this information in mind, it is fair to say that a good grip on the rules of a language, the more successful in life you will become.

Start Something That Matters

     If I didn't have to worry about money, I don't believe that my passions would change. I currently would like to be a lawyer because I love the idea of achieving justice. Although the money is nice, I have other passions. If I could choose an occupation that didn't make a lot of money, I would love to be a teacher. Teaching students about history would be amazing, and hopefully when I get older that is what I will do. Even if I didn't have to worry about money I would want to become a teacher to pursue my passion.
      If I were a teacher I would want to move to a city that has a lot of underprivileged kids, and I would become so involved in that community. I would probably move up to St. Louis. I went on a mission trip up there and I realized how many kids aren't as lucky as I am. They are struggling to get by. So, I would involve myself in the community.
     The cause I would serve would be related to younger students and helping them to strive for excellence even though their lives have been very rough. I am not specifically sure of the organization, but I would most likely start my own. The only hope that I would have for this project is to just change the lives of these students, and help them graduate high school.
      Now moving on to one of the best stories that I read was called Half4thehungry. It intertwines the ideas of reducing obesity and feeding the starving children. What these restaurants are proposing is that the customer is paying full price for a meal, but only getting half the portion. Then, after the restaurant donates a minimum of $4 to a local charity to help feed starving children.
      The second story I liked was sanitation creations. while being in Mr. Tate's class I learned how many people have very unsanitary living conditions and that is a growing problem causing people to become sick. They were making a cleaner experience by using chemicals. This could potentially solve the lacking sanitization in other counties. Evaluating 2.5 billion people lack adequate sanitation, proves that there is a need for something to be done about this growing problem.
        The last one I watched was CoverForCover. which is striving to fight illiteracy in kids by using fun books to do so. Now, by someone purchasing a book, they provide a book to a low income family. Lacking literacy almost creates a dim future for many. Hopefully, by providing these books it will start to make a difference. Also, I believe this would help to reduce the amount of dropout rates within these areas.
      Now, these ideas are unique and could potentially change the world. It is very interesting to understand that some people put their own needs aside and focus on what others need. This helps to broaden my horizon and recognize that there is in fact, a need for people who are willing to change the world. That is why I believe it is important to start something that matters.

Pecha Kucha Response; Lucid Dreams

           I believe that the presenter could have done a better job emphasizing what he was saying. I have learned that if you sound bored with what you are talking everyone else gets bored too. So, he needed to make sure to sound extremely interested in what he was talking about. Also, he could make sure to use better language when presenting a topic. He needed to refrain from using provocative language.
            It is a very interesting topic that he picked. He started getting extremely excited when he addressed his own personal experiences with lucid dreaming. It was definitely more enjoyable to listen to when he was interested in what he was talking about. He ended up saying "um" a lot and talked fast occasionally, which made it hard to follow.
            He had very funny pictures in his slide which made it more relatable. I feel like I could use this to make my slide better by improving on the amount of interest I have in my topic. I am very excited to help others understand what is going on with the Chinese population and their rights. I also feel like I will hardly cover anything with only twenty second slides. It will be hard to fit all the information I want to share in such s short amount of time. This presentation made e realize what I need to do to have a successful presentation.
         

Religion within China

 

       Throughout China there are many widely recognized religions, such as, Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Islam, and Confucianism. Although most recognize China as an atheist country, only around 15% don’t participate in any religious practices of any kind. (“Religions & Beliefs in China”). The culture within China differs from the United States because religions are looked down upon by the Chinese government. This lack of approval for different religions is the reason as to why the culture is so accustom to claiming the title of atheist.

            Xinjiang, China is known for its acceptance of different cultures, and religions. It is also suggested that there are over fifty nationalities that live in peace and harmony (Wan li Han, Wu “Autobiography”). Also, within her biography she admits to being a Muslim girl and is accepted for her religion. She recognizes that she apart of the minority with China, only 1.64% of the Chinese population is Muslim. Although we do recognize China as a majorly atheist country it does have many religions existing within it.  

I found researching religion as a challenge, but when reading the autobiography it caught my attention. I thought a majority of China was atheist, but in reality it is very similar to the United States. It is a mixture of different nationalities, and religions, but unfortunately the Chinese government isn’t as accepting as the United States government. As Americans, we have a lot of pride in our religions, but other countries aren’t as bold with their religions. This is a very fascinating aspect of China that I am very excited to research more in depth.

 

                                         Secondary Sources

“Religions and Beliefs in China.” Travel China Guide.com. Travel China Guide. 2014. 10 Nov. 2014. Web.  

 

                                                Primary Sources

            Layla. Letter to Marisa Mayo. 19 Oct. 2014. MS. Qingdao, China.