The next group’s topic on teen suicide was also interesting, if rather depressing. I think the biggest issue concerning teen suicide is how touchy it is. The tragic loss of someone’s child isn’t something that wants to be discussed; talking about it is bound to bring troubling emotions. As mentioned in class, more emphasis on the guidance/counseling office in high school may be one way to prevent more suicides.

 Blogging for this class was sure different than what I had experienced. I had a blog for one class in high school, but we barely used it. What I liked about this though was that it didn’t have to be formal; it felt kind of natural typing on this medium. I could type from the comfort of my own home and really get the mind working. Also, it was useful for looking at the thoughts of my other classmates, and being able to respond to them outside of class. For future classes i’m not really sure what needs improving. Everything up to this point seems fine by me, I had no problem getting by. That being said, some of the postings were challenging. At the beginning of the year, when we read the packets on expressing emotions in words and having to respond to the readings, I really had to sit and analyze it. I ended up writing a lot, but it was tough to get started. A nice challenge it was though. Some of the more interesting posts were the recent ones on the group presentations. I felt I could write easily about them since they were so interesting. Responding to the Easter Everywhere chapters was interesting too, since I usually like to pay attention to details when I read.

 Golden Dragons’ presentation on binge drinking was rather fascinating. I never knew how alcohol laws worked in the U.K., and it from what I learned, it actually seems like a very practical solution to young adults and drinking. Gradually introducing alcohol to young kids and having the parents responsible for it’s consumption by them makes sense. When they become of age to drink on their own, the young adults won’t have this built up frenzy to consume as much beer as they can. They will have hopefully learned how to deal with it in a mature fashion. Like The Golden Dragons mentioned, completely barring off alcohol and making it absolutely illegal until you’re of age only makes it mythological to the kids, and makes them want to have it as quickly as possible. Decreasing the minimum drinking age to 18 isn’t the answer though, it just let’s loose that alcohol frenzy at a younger age. I think what the U.K. does is a smart answer, but then again, their culture is different from ours. We focus more on individualism and freedom when the age of 21 comes around, and alcohol adds to that allure. Would it be easy to change alcohol laws so that they modeled what the U.K. does? Probably not.

 Besides things changing inside of Darcey, things are beginning to change in her outside life as well. Money is becoming more of an issue within the family, and as such her father starts to substitute teach and, as the Vietnam War starts to intensify, work with the Black Panthers and other “liberals”. Because of this, Darcey doesn’t see her father too often anymore, which certainly compounds her growing distrust of God. The ending to chapter five is pretty fitting too. As a Christmas gift, Darcey’s father get’s money stuffed in balloons, and when one gets unloose and floats away, the father desperately chases after it. This also bolsters Darecey’s distrusts of God and her growing view of religion as material rather than spiritual.

One in three Americans hate their jobs. One in three; the next time you’re walking down the street, or cruising through the city, and happen to see three adults (shouldn’t be too hard), one of them will hate their jobs. Can you imagine living your life hating what you do every single day? Can you imagine getting up in the morning, intaking a load of coffee, and bracing yourself for another loathsome day at work? Seems like something you don’t want to happen right? Unfortunately, it happens all too easily, and it doesn’t just affect you; hating your job affects the U.S. as well. Why does this happen in the first place? What forces are behind this phenomenon in America that has affected not just the personal life, but the overall economic well-being of the country? Perhaps a better question is, how do we alleviate such a sad scenario?

 One myth prevails above all others. Many people assume that you want to get into a career that’s popular at the moment. Because it’s so in demand, you’ll have a good chance of getting hired right away, and  you’ll have a large paycheck right from the beginning. Every year lists come out naming what these top careers will be. Because they are written by experts in the field, it would not be unnatural to be persuaded by this list. However, this leads students to study an area that doesn’t suit them well; they’ll continue pushing forward with a subject they don’t like because they figure that at the end of the tunnel is a career that makes a lot of money.  Dr. Brannigan, a philosophy teacher, wrote in one of his textbooks a specific weakness in utilitarianism, “Focusing all of our energies upon the end, we can easily lose sight of the means to that end” (154). This has a lot to do with career choice actually. Students become so wrapped up with the green to be had after college that they don’t take the time to pay attention to how unhappy they are with their major. Not only that, but who says that these popular jobs will still be popular when the student graduates? As Dawn McKay put is, “Way too often what is hot this year won’t be hot a few years from now” (McKay). Technology is ever advancing, the world changes, social ideas change, and the skills employers look for change.  Students could find their game-plan ruined, and thus in a bind. How do we cure this common career thought?  First of all, one must consider their inner-qualities. What are my interests? What do I find particularly stimulating to learn about? What are my own values?  Your college career center will certainly have tests that answer these questions. Will it’s solution flat out point to your perfect career? No, they won’t go right out and say exactly what you should do, no exception, but instead give you a ball-park idea. Also, you should take into consideration the difference between career entry and career advancement. Numerous jobs allow for promotions, so working your way upwards in a profession is just as good, if not better, than trying to earn a large income right away (Cuseo 233). In general, patience is key here. We must take the time to know about ourselves a little; that’s partly what college is all about. We cannot rush straight into a career because of the money involved, it’s too risky and the consequences are dire.

Annotated Bibliography

  It has always been the common myth among people that you should get into a career that makes big bucks. Especially in today’s market, where competition is as fierce as ever, and the stakes are very high, this holds exceptionally true. However, this leads to some serious long-term consequences. Students who study a field that just isn’t for them, but do it for the sake of money, put the success and happiness invested in their future lives at stake. One must consider what really interests them, money comes second. If we don’t, then we become unhappy at our jobs, feel unaccomplished, and become unproductive. This bibliography provides readers with some sources that discuss common career myths, their consequences, and what one can do to avoid falling into one of them.

 Cuseo, Joseph B., Viki Sox Fecas, and Aaron Thompson. Thriving in College and Beyond.

Dubuque: Kendall, 2008. Print.

 The authors discuss strategies for making the most of, and succeeding in, college. They explain how to develop oneself, including such elements as diversity and higher-level thinking, while also providing tips on how choose your major and how to start thinking about ones profession including common career myths and ways to avoid them. Further they explain the importance of college and what it provides both now and later.

I’ve discovered something interesting in relation to the Group Research project.  In my Computer Science class, I am learning how to actually make surveys from scratch using code. I can use this knowledge for the Group project. Not only that, but I learned in the same class how to use Excel, a program for making up numerical charts and graphs. This will also be very useful. It’s funny how convenient the Computer Science class schedule matched up with my Group Research Project.

Group Work Questions

1. Bordo’s central argument is that advertisements pressure women to try and stay young and beautiful. The audience is all women everywhere. Her purpose for writing this is to raise awareness advertisement of women and its effects.

 2. “The magazines tell me that at this age, a woman can still be beautiful.” She responds by saying that it only applies to women who have the money to buy the products.

“We can all stay young forever.” She responds by saying that only the rich “stay young”, the poor are the ones who get old.

 3. “I don’t have a problem with woman who already look good who want to be perfect.” With this quote, Susan advances her larger point in the paragraph that human bodies shouldn’t and can’t be perfect. In the entire essay, she says that no matter how hard you try, your body can’t be perfect.

4. “When did ‘perfection’  become applicable to the human body?” This question she asks shows that this is what she’s saying.

 5. Susan herself is the naysayer, since she asks the question of “Am I immune?” She looks to herself as a critic in order to strengthen and expand her original point.

 6. “Inner beauty” is at stake. We only care about the outside when what we have inside should be counted just as much, if not more. Pretty much anyone, men or women, apply here.

Assigned Questions: Awareness of ADHD 1-3

1. Decker claims that an increase in the awareness of ADHD has lead to more treatments, but also more misdiagnoses, based simply on quickness and efficiency. Decker wants to let audiences know that not all people diagnoses with ADHD actually have it; there’s a lot of factors that could say otherwise,
2. Near the beginning, Decker quotes Pomeranty about ADHD and certain statistics. Personally, I would have paraphrased or summarized this. Statistics aren’t exciting to quote; neither was the quote itself. The paraphrase she gives of Isaac’s statement of ADHD is effective; it shows off his important view while keeping it in Decker’s own words.  Her summary of Lawson on page 79, about the increase in awareness of ADHD, is also effective. She carefully explains why Lawson’s statement actually supports the idea that there is an increase in the awareness of ADHD, not an increase in the number of the actual disorder.
3. She does use the template. On page 78, she shows the opinions of several scientists, then goes on to “I Say” by implicitly agreeing with Isaac’s statement, and explaining further why this is the case.  

The “They Say, I Say” template of writing is clearly apparent in Andrew Samwick’s blog: http://voxbaby.blogspot.com/2006/09/holding-colleges-accountable-for.html. Mr. Samwick, professor of economists at Darthmouth College, voices his opinions here on economists, politics, and similar subjects. The particular post I found is on colleges and graduation. According to what “they say”, that is, The New York Times , “About 50 colleges across the country have a six-year graduation rate below 20 percent, according to the Education Trust, a nonprofit research group. Many of the institutions serve low-income and minority students.”. Another They Say, a researcher by the name of Melissa Roderick, suggests,in light of this data, that colleges should be held accountable for their students’ graduations. Mr. Samwick gives a summary of the The New York Times article and goes on to quote Melissa, then gets into the “I Say”. He states that college students should not be treated as kids and that they are responsible for their academic work; that graduating is a sign that a student has taken this responsibility and understands the level of this academic work. In conclusion he explains that students do not come fully prepared to college and that colleges offer lackluster help. I could definitely see the “They Say I Say” template at work here. Mr. Samwick first summarizes the sources that he found he had to write against, and then did so.

Conventional wisdom has it that you need to go into a career that’s widely popular right out of college and will thus have a higher starting salary. This way of thinking will only lead to trouble though. Students who go down this path don’t realize what their true interests and abilities are, and instead get a job where their bored and unsatisfied. While it it is true that working in a top paying job is important, students shouldn’t have to sacrifice their callings for it. Besides that, not many entry-level jobs pay a lot, it takes advancement.

 As mentioned, this is stealing, which not only entails ethical matters but legal matters as well. You could be kicked out of school, and even lose your job over plagiarism, not to mention the loss of credibility and the value of a good education. Finally, the paper work and procedural process involved just isn’t worth it. Saint Rose’s policy on plagiarism seems standard enough, I don’t really have any issue with it. A college encourages a sense of trust in it’s students by offering writing centers and things such as library tutorials to help students cite more efficiently and easily.

 There is a recent news article on NDTVMovies.com about two record companies that have sued famous rock band Guns N’ Roses over what they believe is plagiarism in one of the band’s songs. According to the companies, Riad N’ The Bedouins contains portions of two songs by a German musician, Ulrich Schnauss. The amount of legal proceedings to come, as well as the amounts of money that will surely be dished out over all this, shows how dangerous plagiarism can be. This isn’t an issue seen only on a college campus, this extends to any business, especially the music business. The consequences and stakes involved here are nightmarish.

 http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?Section=Movies&ID=ENTEN20090111623&subcatg=MOVIESINDIA&keyword=music

 I found http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/ConfPap/Sax-Harper_GenderGap_Air05.PDF to be a reliable source. It’s an article about how gender affects different college decisions, including the choice of major. The PDF is published by the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies (GSE&IS). They are easily contactable, as is Linda J. Sax, one of the authors of the PDF; her contact information is clearly posted on the front of the article. GSE&IS includes two departments, the Department of Education and the Department of Information Studies, and together their mission is to enhance educational practice and information gathering and systems. The methods carried out in researching the topic are extensive; not only was a national survey conducted on over seventeen thousands students, but numerous other sources are cited. There are also extensive tables with numerical info on the study. The article was given in 2005, and a lot of the sources are pretty relevant. The site hosting the PDF contains no advertising, and there are no membership gimmicks or the like.