Wednesday, December 18, 2013

What are Different Heroes' Versions of Justice

       Every hero has a different versions of justice. Some heroes fight minor problems. Some heroes fight major problems. Every hero has a different personality which can affect their version of justice. Every hero is different.
       For Example, Captain America usually is the one to deal with the major crimes such as war. You don't usually see Captain America saving a cat from a tree or catching purse-snatchers. Those are considered minor problems. Another hero that has a different version of justice is Spiderman. He's usually the one help a cat from a tree or catch purse-snatchers. You don't usually see Spiderman as a soldier fighting in war. Spiderman version of justice is within the his community and neighborhood. Another hero would be Green Arrow. Green Arrow is a modern day Robin hood who gives to the poor and takes from the rich. Green Arrow focuses on fighting justice of the lower class. 
      This made me think deeper about humanity because it shows how every hero has a different version of justice. Spiderman teaches you that no matter how small the problem is, a hero is a hero no matter what. Captain America teaches you that you should never hesitate ti fix a problem no matter how big the problem is. Captain America doesn't usually fight minor problems, he fight for the good of mankind.

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Rethinking Juvenile Justice

        "Rethinking Juvenile Justice," by John schwartz is about how juvenile offenders being prosecuted as adults. Many states are now making it harder to try teen offenders in the adult justice system. I believe that juvenile offenders should't be prosecuted as adults. Kids don't act the same as adults do. Adults know how to control their actions more than we do. Juvenile offenders should not be treated as adults. 
        In the article, the writer says, "Now we realize that to ensure that kids are protected, we have to recognize that they are actually different from adults." Kids are a lot different from adults. They should not be treated like them. The writer also says, "The realization, along with a sharp drop in violent crime and new scientific research  showing that teenagers' brain are fully developed, began turning the tide away from the get-tough approach."Juvenile offenders should not be treated like adults because they don't think like adults. The writer also says, "In 2009, 85 percent of the 1,800 cases in which juveniles were tired as adults over a 10-year period involved middle- to low-level felonies like robert, assault, and burglary.
         This connects to teenagers because it shows how juvenile offenders are being prosecuted as adults for many of the wrong reason. For  example, 2009 only 15 percent juvenile offenders in 1,800 cases were involved in homicides. Only 5 percent of the juvenile offends were involved with first-degree murder. This means that juvenile offenders are being prosecuted as adults for the wrong reasons. Juvenile offenders should not be prosecuted as adults.

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Airport Mutts

Airport escort dogs
            "Airport Mutts" is about how dogs are being escorted to greet passengers at airports reduces stress from the passengers. Dogs can will help reduce stress from people waiting on hectic securtiy lines and rushing to catch their flight. I think dog escorts should be added to every airport becuase they help reduce stress. They can keep people calm and relaxed. They can also help many problems in airports caused by stress.
             In the article the writer says, "Its program has expanded to 11 dogs, whose owners volunteer to take them around the terminals to greet passengers." This means that these escort dogs are starting to become more popular and are spreading to many airports.  The writer also said, "Los Angeles International Airport last was voted the second most stressful airport in the U. S after Chicago O'Hare- now has 30 stress relieving mutts. This means that now airports are becoming a lot less stressful because of the dogs. Another thing that the writer says is, ' Studies show that people who spend time with dogs have lower blood pressure and less anxiety. This means that dogs because people to act more calm and less anxious. 
            This made me think deeper about humanity because it shows how important dogs can be towards human stress. like it said in the article, dogs can lower blood pressure and less anxiety.This can help people be less stressed and more calm. Without dogs in airports, people will go crazy!

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Character Change

               Middle School: How I Survived Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson is about   a boy named Rafe Katchadorian who tries to survive his 8 week sleep away camp. It's not just summer camp. It's summer school camp. Character change helps show their feelings change towards other characters.
               In the book Rafe says, "It was true that I couldn't wait to get away from Georgia, even if we would just be on two sides of the same camp but now that Mom and Grandma were about to take off, some teeny, tiny part of me was glad that Georgia would be around. I don't know why. I just was." All of a sudden Rafe's feelings about Georgia change because he knows that even though he doesnt have his mom, he has Georgia by his side. 
              Character change made me think deeper about how people change in real life. Sometimes characters can change based on how they react towards other people after a long period of time.    

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Brooklyn Bulldogs vs. Huskies


It was 3:35 pm when I leaped into my car. My mom asked me how my day was and gave me her phone. I took the phone and looked at the screen. It was an email from the Brooklyn Bulldogs Travel Baseball Organization. They wanted me to come and join their team . I would have to make the decision of leaving the SFX Huskies, a team I had been on since I was 8 years old.
          I couldn’t believe the Bulldogs wanted me. A few years ago, my dad told me that other teams are going to start looking at my skills and watching me play and are going to want me on their teams. The time had finally come.
         After I read the email, I looked at my mom indecisively. 
       “What should I do?” asked her. 
       “I can’t make that decision. It’s your life.” She responded. 
         Later on, when told my dad that I was thinking about joining the Bulldog his eyes were wide open and his jaw dropped to his knees. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard.  After about 20 minutes of thinking he  told me that I had to make my own decision.  
          The next day, as I was walking to school, I saw all of my friends wearing Brooklyn Bulldogs hoodies. I felt like I was the only Husky, in a park full of Bulldogs. I felt like I had to be a Bulldog like everyone else. Would the Bulldogs help me get into a good high school?
          As I thought about my decision. I started to remember all the great times I had with my current team, the SFX huskies. The players, the coaches and the even the parents. The Huskies were my family.
        It was now between the Huskies and the Bulldogs.. In the e-mail, it said that the coaches from the Bulldogs had connections with Poly Prep, Xaverian, Midwood, Berkley Carroll all have great high schools baseball teams that would like to play for. I don’t know if staying with the Huskies will help me get into these great high schools.
       I’ve made the decision to go the Brooklyn Bulldogs. Even though the Huskies are my family, I have to pick the team that will help me get into a good high school. When I made this decision, I knew I wan’t a kid anymore.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Watching You

                      "Watching You" by Patricia Smith is about how much the government surveillance should Americans accept to keep the nation safe from any terrorists attacks. I think that the government should surveillance but not too much. Americans should be able to have some type of privacy. It call prevent many terrorists attacks.
                       In the article, it says, "The internet surveillance program, called Prism, started the following year; it involves eavesdropping on e-mails and online chats of foreigners overseas." This is way too much surveillance. Americans should be able to socialize and chat with one another without having to think about the government spying on them. 
                      In the article, it also says, "Information gathered under Prism has helped foil about 50 terrorist plots, according to NSA director Keith Alexander. In 2008, an intercepted e-mail led authorities to arrest an Al Qaeda operative in the U.S who was plotting backpack bombings on the New York City subway." Even though government surveillance is overpowering, it still saved thousands of lives.
                     The article also says, 'Within hours of the Boston bombings... authorities began sifting through a mountain of video footage... By the end of the week, the suspects had been identified and captured before they could harm anyone else." This means that surveillance is helping catch terrorists before they cause more problems.   
                     This made me think deeper about humanity because shows how protective the government is. It also shows that us Americans need more privacy!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Literary Device- Meaningful Dialogue

                Middle School: How I Survived, Bullies, Broccoli, and Snake Hill by James Patterson is about a boy named Rafe Katchadorian who is a younger sister named Georgia. He tries to a way to survive his 8 week sleep away  camp. Its not just an old summer camp where u learn how to make a camp fire and swim in lakes. It's a summer school camp.  I think Rafe loves georgia but sometimes he can't stand her.
                 One thing that Rafe says in the story is, "Okay, one more more little bit of truth here. It was true that i couldn't wait to get away from Georgia, even if we would just be on two sides of  the same camp. But now that Mom and Grandma were about to take off, some,teeny, tiny part of me was glad that Georgia would be around. I don't know why. I was just." This means the Rafe feels  certain way knowing that even though he'll be away from his mom he'll still have Georgia.
                Another thing that Rafe says is, "The good news was that we had a whole lake between, the boys' side and the girl side. If I was lucky, I'd hardly see Georgia at all for the whole eight weeks. It almost made the summer-school thing worth it." This means that even he loves Georgia, he can't stand her.
               Another quote that Rafe says is "Georgia had packed about eight weeks in advance, checked her list 40 times, and then made a copy of the list to make sure she wouldn't lose it,,, and double checked that too. Ny sister may be smart but she's also nuttier that squirrel's nest on the first day of winter." For a person who dislikes his sister, really talks a lot about her.
               This claim connects to me personally because i have a younger sibling like Rafe. I know how it feels to be annoyed at my younger sibling. Even though  my younger brother is annoying, I still love him.