The Meaning of a Diploma

In class I read this article called “ In Praise of the F Word” by Mary Sherry. Mary shares her idea on the school system, how young people are just pasted thru the grading system. And when they are adults suffer and end up in programs like hers, adult literacy programs.  Mary argues that the child’s environment doesn't matter because most kids don't put school first unless something is in it for them. Giving them that failing grade can actually be that motivation. So Mary states that “this policy that worked in the past and can work today.”

One idea that grasped my attention in the article was Mary Sherry first sentence. “Tens and thousands of eighteen year olds will graduate this year and be handed meaningless diplomas”. I strongly disagree with this because I don't think a diploma is meaningless and in some cases are hard to achieve. A high school diploma has become a struggle to get. Especially if the child as a disadvantage like; problems at home, problems in the neighborhood, financial issues. All this can take a huge toll on the child's school life. I don't think adults realize how much of a challenge high school can be.

For some people in those tens and thousands of eighteen year olds they might be the first in their family generation to actually finish high school. My brother and I both finish high school, and both mother and father have a middle school education level. So for our family a high school diploma is great accomplishment, and the diploma has more worth than just a piece a paper. It is proof that of the American dream, to come to this county and do what our parents couldn't do living back in our country.

Based on living situations and the environment it may be harder for a kid to actually be successful in high school. It feels like getting an education in general is hard to get as you get older. In elementary school you are moved up levels based on if you can read and write at a certain level. In middle school you pass based on testing, attendance and conduct in school. And in high school you graduate based on attendance, testing, work, regents and having necessary amount of credits. As you can see the requirements of a high school diploma are more intense. Even though it has become harder to graduate my cousin Maria despite all odds is on track for graduation. Maria has a hard time studying because she has to babysit her 2 little brothers while her mom is at work. Sometimes when they get sick Maria has to miss school, her family can't afford a babysitter. But yet Maria is going to graduate June 2015 and is looking at colleges. She’s does not let her past determine what her future is to be. Despite all the obstacles she faced in high school and in her environment .Her graduation day will be another victory for our family.

In conclusion to say that a diploma is a meaningless piece of paper is wrong because like myself, people in my family and my peers take great pride in this successful moment. It means that we started something and was able to finish. Especially during the adolescent time where we are going thru changes and trying to find ourselves. What it takes to get a high school diploma is hard work, patience and dedication, and everybody with a high school diploma should have pride in their victory and should further their education

Women are better at Multitasking

I read this article called “Are Women Really better at Multitasking?” This was a straightforward question that was proven to be true by some research done by a team of British researchers. The team of researchers took 100 students, 50 men and 50 women, and had them perform three tasks at the same time and handling a phone call, if they choose to pick it up or not. The author says that the women put the men to shame, when it came  to the most difficult task developing a plan for a lost key. The men just jump straight into it, while the women came up with a logical plan to cover as much ground as they can so they have a better chance at finding the key. In this case women were proven better at multitasking than men are.

One idea of the authors that I found important was when he/she said, women had few problems handling everything at once, in fact 70 percent of them perform better than their average male counterparts. I 100 percent agree with this because since the dawn of time women have been multitasking with various housework and personal things, balancing a family, work and the outside world. Many of us can look at our mothers or any females we known and notice and even wonder how do they keep themselves so together. For them multitasking is just a second nature to them, it comes off natural.Its a skill they pass on to their daughters so they can be independent.

The reason I feel women are better than men at multitasking is because the way I was brought up.Myself, like I’m sure many other females in my generation were brought up in a very old fashion family setting. Meaning at young age our mothers would teach us how to do things around the house, so when we get older we can be more independent.The key to being successful at multitasking is time management . The guys aren't really brought up the same, all they are taught is work hard, bring food and money home. So they may not face as many challenges as women would at home, trying to balance everything out. My family eats dinner around noon because its the only time we are all together, due to the fact that everybody had jobs and when they come home from work they would be tired. As a child I can remember waking up in the morning, already my mom would be in the kitchen getting dinner ready. While my breakfast is already on the table for me when I finish brush my teeth. I’ll go and make my bed and fix it up a little, and shes already half way threw the house mopping, on the phone with somebody from my brother school. She gets all the cooking and cleaning out the way early because she works in the afternoon and when she comes home she just wants to relax. After all that she’d had dinner ready and a clean home, by 3 pm she’d be ready for work and out the door coffee at hand.

Women are considered more aware of the little things, while men just see the big picture and just want to get things done easy and fast as possible. Instead of saying this way isn't working just forget about it, we women question why doesn't it work. Women can be more patient they guys that's why we have more success when it comes to multitasking difficult task that require more brain power than muscle power.We don't get upset when we can't figure something out, and when we are having trouble we think of a plan B with a stronger strategy. In the article I mention earlier “Are Women Really better at Multitasking?” one of the task that the men and women had to do was find a lost key in imaginary field. The men just jump right into the field looking around for the key with no plan. While the women came up with a plan to cover as much of the field as they could without running in circles. The women were more successful at this task as they were with all the other ones.

Some people may not agree with me, some think guys are better, but because of my personal experience, females are better at multitasking than guys are. Reason I feel this way is because what I learn from my mother, I think she is a master multitask er. My mother impacted my life and taught me how to balance school, work and a personal life. But I’m sure we all know that one woman in their family whose well put together and knows how to balance out their life. We idolize that person hoping one day to be as put together as them. Weather it be a teacher, an aunt, or sister. We witness the grace of women ability to multitask everyday, on the train, at home, at school or in the park.

Seeking Balance in Airport Screening.

 

Scott Shane shares his idea on airport screening and how it affects all flyers in his New York Times article called “Administration to Seek in Airport Screening” . Scott Shane states that more than two million air passengers a day are scanned. The Scanners are a violation of privacy, because it allows you to see unclothed body and if you chose to not be scanned a full body physical search is an option. Obama administration officials say that the risk of a terrorist attack is too high and they have to take these precautions to insure that the country isn't at risk. James Carafano suggest that body scanning and pat downs should be for secondary screening for passengers who act suspicions.On the other hand  Bruce Hoffman says we should consider an israeli-style approach for identify passengers who pose a particular risk by observing their behavior. What is clear is that we need a new approach on seeking balance in the airport screening.