“Victim, Vixen, Villain” by: Nina Burleigh (Blog 9)

          In her article “Victim, Vixen, Villain” written in the October 17^th, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Nina Burleigh talks about the controversy over Amanda Knox’s conviction. While studying abroad in Italy, Amanda Knox was accused of assaulting and killing her college roommate, Meredith Kercher, with the help of Rudy Guede.  In 2009, Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison. In 2011, her sentence was overturned because it was regarded as a “miscarriage of justice”. Knox was released from prison with a lot of poparazi greeting her outside the prison gates. This entire event sparked a large controversy into the media. Many Europeans believe that she is guilty and should be in jail. Her mannerisms in court were seen as obscure; she was aloof at times and even said, “I am trying to get on with my life”. However, a majority of people outside of Europe saw this case as very corrupt due to the lack of evidence proving that she helped with the murder. It took 2 years for the U.S. to work to exonerate Knox from the Italian criminal justice system. Knox has safely returned to her home in Seattle, Washington.

          This event makes me afraid of studying abroad in a foreign country. I believe that Knox had almost nothing to do with the murder. I have done some research on this matter, and found little to no evidence hinting that Knox helped or committed the murder. Basically, it looks like the Italian justice system sent an innocent U.S. citizen to prison in Italy. She had to stay in prison for two years. Two years is an extremely long time if you are doing absolutely nothing in prison, except activities to keep you sane like exercising. I cannot imagine what that experience would be like; the feeling of living in prison while knowing that you’re innocent must be excruciating. I am glad she is back to her home in our country. I doubt that she will be able to leave this country for a while due to the scarring that this event has done on her.

"The Preschool Wars" by Kayla Webley (Blog 8)

                In her article “The Preschool Wars” written in the October 10^th, 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Kayla Webley talks about why it is necessary for children to attend preschool, and how North Carolina is experiencing the worst dilemma regarding getting children into preschool. In preschool, children perform simple exercises that can, believe it or not, make or break their futures. Preschool is absolutely critical in a child’s life; preschool teaches a child how to pay attention, stay on taste, and how learning can be fun. A study that was conducted in Ypsilanti, Michigan showed that people who attended preschool were able to achieve higher levels of education and earned higher wages, while the people who hadn’t attended preschool had received lower levels of educations and had a higher chance of becoming incarcerated. Recent statistics have shown that if a child is not reading at grade level then they are more likely to drop out of high school by age 19. The U.S. is suffering while trying to fund preschool programs for each state. Ten states have no preschool funding program. North Carolina is struggling and attempting the hardest to get their children into preschool. North Carolina has about 13,500 kids on a waiting list to attend preschool with a funding program. Some parents are resorting to teaching their kids how to be prepared for kindergarten, but are struggling to do so because these certain parents have no teaching experience.       

                Reading about this issue frightens me. I already know that America currently ranks one of the lowest in test scores, and now we cannot even get all of our children to go to preschool. What is America becoming? Sadly, it seems that this is going to be the non-intelligent era for America. Other countries will surely surpass our forces by outwitting us, and possibly even taking over the country. With all this tension between countries like China, North Korea, and the U.S., I am not going to be surprised if an immense war starts. I hope that we can fix our economy soon and start to boost up our school systems. This era in American should be about vast innovations and creations, instead of cognitive and economic meltdowns.

               

"Playing Favorites" By: Jeffrey Kluger (Blog 7)

                In his article “Playing Favorites” written in the October 3^rd 2011 issue of Time Magazine, Jeffrey Kluger explains how parents actually do have a favorite child, and the negative effects that favoritism has on the children and family. Most parents claim that they do not have a favorite, but the parents are only keeping that information a secret. A study conducted by Catherine Conger, who is a professor of human and community development at the University of California, concluded that 60% of mothers and 70% of fathers reveal that they do have a favorite child. The act of favoritism in a parent towards a particular child may cause long term problems in the family; the act of favoritism may also negatively affect the children’s minds. Often times, the favored child is the firstborn because parents will spend more quality time with the firstborn child. A Norwegian study conducted in 2007 presented that firstborns have a 3-point IQ higher than later siblings. Favored children who know that they’re the favorite may often feel guilt, and be mistreated by his or her siblings who also know the “truth” about who’s the favorite.  Parents who neglect a child may cause the neglected child to grow up with psychological scars. An example of someone who has dealt with this sort of psychological scarring is Charles Dickens. Even though Charles Dickens is famous and wealthy nowadays, he still experiences times where he is reminded of his gloomy past where he undergone his parent’s favoritism towards his older sister. Children who feel less loved are at a higher risk of developing low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety. Luckily, favoritism often fades when the children grow older.

                I always had a hint that this was an issue for a lot of families. Most often I would believe that parents are telling the truth when they state that they love all their children equally. But this article has made me a bit more skeptical about that statement. I do not want to be a parent of more than one child. I know that if I were to have more than one child then I would favor the child who makes me more proud. Even though having a favorite is bad in many aspects, I am acknowledging that I would have a favorite before I even have children. By acknowledging this fact about myself ahead of time, I can determine whether or not it would be smart to have more than one child. I believe many people who are about to start a family should think about this matter like how I did. They should determine whether or not they can give every child an equal amount of love and support. Instead of favoring a child for everything that they are, parents should favor something about each and every child. For instance, the father could favor the son for his musical abilities and favor the daughter for her singing abilities. The favoritism should be balanced with that sort of a system. It is tremendously important for equality to be met in families.

“Getting to Know about You and Me” by: Chana Scheonberger (Blog 6)

                In her article “Getting to Know about You and Me” written in the Writer’s Response textbook, Chana Scheonberger talks about how many people in the U.S. are ignorant about other religions; this ignorance could then lead to hatred and prejudice. Scheonberger is of the Jewish faith. She provides a few examples from her own life where people have been misinformed about her religion and have made anti-Semitic remarks in front of her. One of her main examples is about her professor who said he, “wouldn’t want them to get Jewed,” in front of a group of students. Scheonberger and her friend, who is also Jewish, were going to confront their professor about what he had just said, but they never acquired the courage to do so. Another effective example she provides is the time her friends were asking her questions about Jewish people. They asked questions like if she still practiced animal sacrifices, or what kind of foods do Jewish people eat. These examples show that ignorance about another person’s religion may be problematic for both parties involved. People should try to teach one another about their own religion, instead of showing hatred towards someone who is misinformed about someone else’s religion. Hatred should be stemmed off of facts rather than ignorance. Scheonberger plans to join the Diversity Committee at her school in order to inform people about different religions.

                I think that I have experienced much more hatred due to racist stereotyping rather than religious stereotyping. A majority of the people I have known do not even know about my religion, Buddhism, so it has been easy going for me. My friends, on the other hand, have faced a lot of prejudice and hatred from people who are ignorant about certain religions. I believe that the main religious group that suffers the worst of the stereotyping is the Jewish faith. A lot of the kids at my middle school used to make Jewish jokes and harsh Jewish references constantly. Personally, I strongly dislike how different people are on Earth due to religions. Religions cause terrible things like war and violence. In my opinion, religion brainwashes people. It can make them do crazy things. But I am glad that society has moved to a point where religion is kept out of mainstream corporations and the government.