Abby's American Studies

Replaying Events in a Historical Cycle

2009-06-01T09:11:00.000-07:00

My picture shows a man, Luis Ramirez, who was beaten and killed by white high school football players because of his race. They said anti-Mexican remarks to him and then hit and kicked him until he passed out unconscious on the floor. This shows how we as a country are replaying events in a historical cycle. When we looked at the “Rethinking Race in the Classroom” worksheet, a teacher stated that since now we have a black president, “there is a certain sector of the country that now feels racism is over”. Teachers didn't want to read books like Huckleberry Finn and To Kill a Mockingbird because of the use of racial slurs. People think, what's the point of teaching kids about racism if there's a Obama in the white house. Well, clearly, racism is not over. There were race hate crimes in the past, like when Ted Landsmark was beat up in the Soiling of Old Glory because he was black, there are race hate crimes now, and there will be race hate crimes in the future.

The Famous of New Trier High School

2009-05-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week in AIS, Mr. O'Connor mentioned the bulletin board in our school: the "Look Where They Are Now!" board which proudly displays what former students of New Trier are doing now. The only thing is, this board doesn't display ordinary grown men and women who are living ordinary lives and work ordinary jobs, this board shows only the famous people that came out of New Trier, like Rainn Wilson. Why would New Trier only put celebrities? I think it's to show that we're the kind of school that can produce famous people. It makes us that much better than any other school. I also think that we have this board because it attracts families and their children to want to go our school. Who wouldn't want to go to a school that produces celebrities? Although it's really cool that all of these great people came out of New Trier, I don't personally don't think it's a good idea to flaunt New Trier to that great of an extent. Someone in our class said that every once in a while they change the board to show regular former New Trier graduates-people that went on to be teachers at New Trier. I think they should display these kinds of graduates more often.

Why do you think we have a celebrity New Trier graduate board? Do you think it's appropriate?

The American Flag Part 2

2009-05-10T16:17:00.000-07:00

Going back to my last week's post and this week's task of taking an original photograph of an American flag, I went around taking pictures of flags. First, I asked my dad where we keep our flag when it's not up on our house on the 4th of July. The result is the picture below: we keep it rolled up and dusty in our basement.

As I wrote in my last blog post, my family is not big with the American flag. After finding the flag in my house, I drove around nearby neighborhoods, searching for flags on houses. When I came to the house below, I was shocked when I saw a tall flag pole with the American flag in the front yard.

I have seen flag poles before, but in places like fire departments, police stations, schools...etc. Never in a front yard of a small house. It made me realize what a contrast stood between my family's "flag" and their flag. We never take ours out, and this house probably has it out 24-7, 365 days a year. It's really interesting to see which houses/families have their flags up. I think the main question is why certain houses have flags up and why others don't.

What do you think? Does it matter if the house is big or small?

The American Flag

2009-05-06T08:24:00.000-07:00

Today in class we discussed the flag and what it meant to us. Honestly, for me and my family, I don't think we're very patriotic. Not that we are un-patriotic, but we don't have mugs with flags on them, we don't have flag napkins or flag plates, we don't have a flags in any rooms in our house. The only time we put up a flag outside of our house is on 4th of July. Some people might think that's terrible, but really, I don't think a flag means that much. It's a piece of fabric that has a pretty design on it. I think a lot of students are grown up thinking the flag is a big deal. That's it is the "norm" to respect and worship the flag. For me, even though I grew up in that same environment in school, I don't think the same way. Maybe because the flag isn't a big deal in my household.

How do you view the flag in your household?

JT-2

2009-04-21T06:54:00.000-07:00

Last week, I was having difficulty starting my paper. Yesterday, however, I was able to write some of my intro and part of my first body paragraph. I decided I just needed to sit down on the computer and write something, even if it wasn't good. My why question is Why is drinking seen as a norm in college?/Why is it such a large part of college? I want my first body paragraph to be about college drinking traditions from when alcohol was sold to 18 years olds My next topic will be what is called the perceived thought of drinking: the thoughts of incoming freshmen on how much drinking goes on in college. My last topic will be based on the culture in college/why people drink in college. I'm glad I have something going, but I'm worried that the essay won't flow very well.

Junior Theme

2009-04-12T10:51:00.000-07:00

For my junior theme, I think I am on the right track but I still am at a dead end in some things. First, I'm having trouble finding articles that go along with my topic. There are a lot of articles on the effects of college drinking, but none on why drinking is so common in college. Also, I don't understand how we can write a thesis already if we're still researching. I have a lot of information, but I'm not done accumulating it and I still need time to analyze and come up with a conclusion. I tried starting my intro but I couldn't even think of an opener or a grabber.

Does anyone have any suggestions on articles or on the introduction?

Drunk Europeans?

2009-04-06T18:27:00.000-07:00

For my Junior Theme, I am researching alcohol drinking and why it's viewed as a norm for college. It was suggested for me to do some research on the drinking culture for European students, since the minimum drinking age across Europe is 16-18 years old. Before starting my research, I assumed that students there drink in moderation, because (as it said in the article I was to later read), "they have wine at the dinner table with their parents from an early age....alcohol is not a forbidden substance there". Here is the link to the article: http://ntesx01-lic.nths.net:2062/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2006081800&type=hitlist&num=0. As it turned out, that article proved me wrong. It stated that youths in Europe drink nearly twice as heavily as teens in the United States, along with other statistics. This surprised me a lot. Whenever someone mentions Europe and drinking, I never think of them to have more binge drinking teenagers than the U.S. I always thought of them as sophisticated and wise when it came to alcohol, largely due to the fact that wine and other drinks are incorporated into their lives at such an early age.

Are you surprised by the article as much as I was? What were your European stereotypes when it came to drinking?

A Good Image in Sports Teams

2009-04-05T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, my water polo team and I participated in a tournament at Fenwick High School. The last game we played was against Loyola, our biggest water polo rival. We ended up losing, which stunk, but what was really annoying and angering were the Loyola parents! Every time they scored, their parents would stand up on the bleachers and yell and scream into the faces of our parents. At the end of the game, they chanted "Every time!" which meant they win every time they play us (which, by the way, isn't true since we won last time we played them). Some of my teammates were so upset by them that they decided they were going to have a "talk" with them after the game. But, when our coach found out, he forbid them, telling us we had to have a "good image" of our team.

This made me think: what is the "good image" sports teams are supposed to have? I think coaches want to be thought of as respectful, a team when even if they lose, they congratulate the opposing team. Coaches want their team to be thought of as close-together, as well. Even if the players hate each other, the team will have to put on a good face when competing. Why do coaches want this? I think that if they can't be first place physically, they at least want to have their team be first place in sportsmanship.

Why do you think teams have to have a good image? What do you think that good image is?

iPod Loss

2009-03-15T12:47:00.000-07:00

This past Friday, something terrible happened. As I was about to listen to my iPod, it malfunctioned and for some un-known reason, all the songs on my iPod were deleted. At first I was really mad, but I told myself that I would just have to put all the songs from my iTunes library back onto my iPod. I would be annoying, but the problem would be fixed. However, when I tried doing this, the songs wouldn't upload to the iPod. I've had by iPod fro about four years, so my parents said it was probably just old and needed to be replaced. We decided to go to the store today and I was fine with that until I had to go through all of Saturday without it. I listen to my iPod a lot and not being able to was a shock. I went into an iPod depression.

During this depression, I realized how spoiled I was. I thought of all the people who weren't able to afford things like iPods and, going even further, I thought of all the people who can't even afford food. It's sad that I couldn't even go one day without an iPod. It's also sad that in the community we live in, it's thought of as weird if you don't have one. Obviously materialism is a high value around here, but would it be possible for any of us to go without our iPods or cell phones for a week? Probably not for me.

Barbie: a Harmless Toy or a Corrupting Machine?

2009-03-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

As I checked my email today after school, I came upon an article. It's apparently the doll Barbie's 50th anniversary. After reading most of the article, it started talking about Cindy Jackson, a 53 year old woman who was supposedly a "plain-looking" girl growing up. When she saw the Barbie-doll for the first time, she fell in love with her look. Since then, she's gotten 13 full-scale operations to achieve the "all-American beauty" she said that Barbie had. When I read this, I was thoroughly shocked. Getting plastic surgery to look like a doll? That's crazy! The image of Barbie is so fake, it's not even funny. It's said that if a Barbie doll were blown up to a human-sized figure, she'd fall down because her body would be so disproportionate. Why someone would want to look that fake and artificial is beyond me. The Barbie doll, in my opinion, is giving young girls the wrong view and image of women. If Barbies are having grown women get operations to look like them, what affect are they having on tweens?

What do you think of Barbies? Do you think they're corrupting young girls?

Harassment at the State Meet

2009-03-01T09:05:00.000-08:00

On Friday and Saturday of this past weekend, the Boys State Swim Meet was held at New Trier. Me being a swimmer, I had to work at the meet. Although at first I was bummed, it turned out really well; although it was claustrophobic with the mass amount of people, I was right on deck and I was able to see all of the races. One of my jobs was to guard the girls' locker room door-to make sure only female officials and coaches went in. Why I had to guard it, I don't know, because those were the only females on deck. But I was sitting right next to the Evanston team, and during the whole entire meet, they were trash-talking New Trier. At first I just ignored them-I knew they didn't like us. But then one of them went off on one of my friends on the team, and that got me really upset. I was debating whether I should say something to defend him and our team, but I didn't. I didn't want to get involved and have them all hate me too. As I think back on it now, I realized I should have.

This goes back to the rules and morals stuff we learned in elementary school and junior high. That if a friend was being bullied, you should defend them. But, if you're actually in that situation, it's harder than it sounds. Would you defend someone who was being harassed? Even if they weren't your friend?

Miley Cyrus Gets Sued

2009-02-16T12:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend, Miley Cyrus was sued a whopping 4 billion dollars in "damages" for taking a picture with slant-eyes; aka portraying an Asian-American. When I heard this and later saw the actual picture, I though, "Seriously? They're suing her billions of dollars...for this?" The woman suing Miley is from Los Angelos and claims that Asian-Americans are now "victims" from her discriminatory acts. She was also accused of being racist. I think this whole thing went way overboard. She's a teenager whose already made some mistakes before. Although she may not be the best role model, I think everybody should just leave her alone. The picture looked like she was just having fun with her friends. Yeah, it was a little stupid, but it wasn't stupid enough to have to pay 4 billion dollars because of it.

Here is the link to the story: http://www.inquisitr.com/18005/miley-cyrus-sued-for-4-billion-over-slant-eyed-picture/ What do you think of what Miley did? Did she deserve the punishment?

Wheaties or Weedies

2009-02-08T13:11:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, one week ago, the swimming phenomenon, Michael Phelps, was caught smoking a bong. Apparently, he was at a party in some college town and someone took a picture of him. What I don't understand is why he would think no one would take of picture of that.

In my math class this past week, we've been discussing this "horrible" act. When I found out he had smoked pot, I did some research and discovered that if a swimmer is caught with drugs, even if it's their off season, they are banned from the sport for four years; therefore, no 2012 Olympics for Phelps. I think it's a pretty harsh rule, but when I found out Phelps only had a three month suspension, I though, "What?! That's it?" I understand that he's a college kid, and that after four years of continuous training, all he wants right now is to have fun. But, while getting high at that party, I think he forgot that he's a role model for young swimmers. I'm glad that Kellogg dropped him as an endorser; he deserved it. As for the three month ban from swimming, I wish it were more, but at least he got something. It wouldn't be fair to just let him off the hook just because he's Michael Phelps.

What do you think of the situation? Was his punishment fair?

Mythology

2009-02-01T13:02:00.000-08:00

This past week in AIS, our class has discussed the difference between myth and reality. There are myths created for so many things, like the Rosa Parks myth. Stories fabricated to make them sound more exciting and interesting. The myths that follow me everywhere are the ones about New Trier. The difference about New Trier "myths" is that most of them are true- a reality. What bothers me is that just because a lot of the girls in our school are wealth and have UGGs that I am too, and therefore am "snobby and spoiled" as other schools call us. Over the summer, I worked at a country club with a bunch of Glenbrook South students. When I told them I was from New Trier, they looked at me like I was a martian and every time I mentioned New Trier, they always turned the comment into something about money and wealth. For example, when I talked about New Trier's water polo suits and how they were all leather, one of the workers replied, "Oh..the expensive kind...".

Although we do live in a wealthy district, New Trier shouldn't give other schools a negative connotation. I think other people make up these negative "myths" about New Trier just to have something interesting to say.

What other myths are there about New Trier and why do you think they're made?

Lack of Water

2009-01-25T14:11:00.000-08:00

In class this past Friday, we discussed the scarcity of water and how we waste it. And since that discussion...nothing has changed in my life. Although walking out of class I felt bad about how I waste water and even though I said to myself, "I'm going to be careful with how much water I use" I never followed through with it. I'm pretty sure I took a long, hot shower that following night.

I still think it's sad how much water people wast just because we have a lake right next to us. It's especially sad when you think about how many elder, adults, and children who die each year due to the lack of water. Even though many people feel this way, I think for a lot of these people, like me, they won't change their ways. Our nation is so used to having access to water and to having a lot of it, that it will take something pretty drastic to change our ways. It's the same logic with our economy. It became so bad that families finally had to start cutting back on everything. I think that this kind of disaster will have to happen in order for people to also cut back on water usage.

What do you think it's so hard to us to cut back on the amount of water we use?

TV Tokenism

2009-01-09T19:01:00.000-08:00

I am proud to say that thanks to Mr. O'Conner's and Mr. Bolos' TV Tokenism lessons this past week, I am now viewing TV programs critically. And what I've seen and analyzed makes me think about what I was doing before these lessons when I was TV watching. Now, whenever I see a non-Caucasian actor or actress, I immediately tune into their character. A month ago, I would watch the shows I love (Gossip Girl, Pushing Daisies) without thinking twice about how the characters acted. This makes me worry about young children or junior high students who are watching shows like this, totally unaware of the differences between the African American characters and the white characters. Because shows are so dominantly white based, it could easily send kids the message that in real life, African Americans are how they portrayed in sitcoms: usually never the main character, just a non-complicated, bland person. Obviously those are bogus statements.

I'm glad that our class was taught TV Tokenism. Not only should the critical viewing concept be taught in high school, but also to younger students as well so they, too, can understand the flaws of television.

Another Side to Video Games

2009-01-04T12:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I went to my friend's house and when I got there he was playing a video game. I'm not into video games (I'll do Guitar Hero, but that's about it) so I didn't know what he was playing, all I knew was that he was shooting people. As I was watching him kill and murder, it got me thinking about video game controversies. I realize people make a big deal about violence in games, about how it negatively effects children's' minds, but the violence wasn't the thing that bothered and confused me. When I saw the women figures in the game, I was honestly shocked. All of the women were wearing pretty much the same thing: a skimpy, revealing "shirt" and skin-tight pants. Although I know the producers of this game probably only made the women like this to attract males to buy it, it still upset me. If a real life woman wore this kind of clothing and then tried to do the stuff from the video game, she would fail miserably. It's unrealistic and offensive.

How do you feel about violence and/or the exploitation of women in video games?

Underage Drinking

2008-12-28T11:17:00.000-08:00

Last night my mother was driving me home after spending time at my friend's house, and with no warning she brings up the topic of drinking. My mom is pleased that I don't drink, but for some reason she decided to give me a lecture of all the horrible effects of underage drinking. I was getting pretty irritated because I had heard this all before a number of times, so I decided to bring my sister up just to get my mom off my case. My sister is 21 and in college, but she did drink her freshmen and sophomore year. As I pointed this underage drinking fact out to my mom, she bluntly said, "Well, it's different in college". This made me frustrated. Why was it okay for my sibling to consume alcohol when they were 19 and 20? I don't think it's very fair that my sister got off the hook for underage drinking, while I get a lesson every time I hang out with my friends. I don't care that "most people drink in college" as my mother stated. Shouldn't she still get in trouble by my parents?

What's your take on underage drinking?

The Average American Worker

2008-12-26T12:11:00.001-08:00

In class before winter break, we talked about a symbol that represents U.S.A. - the average American worker. When we were told to picture an average American worker, the majority of the class came up with the image of a male laborer (mailman, policeman, firefighter). Why all physical laborers? And the better question, why all men? I think it has to do with what we see and hear from the media while growing up. We obviously know there are other jobs out there and we obviously know women work, but as a child we aren't taught that there are jobs like stock brokers or accountants. We're only used to seeing the "male laborer" job. I remember reading a book when I was younger about jobs. Of course it had the big colorful pictures of firefighters, policemen, and even milkmen. I can only remember there being one woman in the book: the stereotypical teacher. So, yeah, we do know what kind of jobs there are besides the laborers, that include both men and women. But I think it's just that we've still got that male laborer image stuck in our heads from when we were little.

I actually pictured someone different for the average American worker. I had the "businessman" image in my head. It was a man, yet not a physical laborer. I think it's, again, because of the media. I've watched so many movies and T.V. shows that depict the man that goes to the office every day with his briefcase and coffee (like The Office, although not as comical). The media clearly plays a huge role in our lives.

What was your "average American worker"?

The Impeachment of Bush

2008-12-16T09:12:00.000-08:00

In class yesterday and today, we discussed whether or not we should impeach Bush and if the impeachment of Clinton was essential. After reading Al Gore's writing, The Assault on Reason, and analyzing the evidence he provided, I decided that Bush should be impeached. Although some say that the "crimes" Bush committed weren't really crimes at all, Bush did violate the laws of the Constitution. The Constitution was set up to provide the government rules to abide by in order for the country to be run smoothly. When Bush became president, he vowed to follow these laws; yet he's gone against them. To go against the Constitution is, I think, a high crime. Committing a high crime, as stated in the Constitution, is a reason for impeachment; therefore, Bush should be taken out of office.

As for Clinton, I'm undecided. Although he lied under oath, which should be enough reason for him to be impeached, what he lied about isn't strong enough for him to be taken out of office. It doesn't bother me to have a president who had a sexual affair with someone. I really don't think that affects how someone runs the country. Apparently, Clinton had done other crimes besides his affair. Why they chose to impeach him for lying about his affair, I don't know. If it were me to decide if he should be impeached, I'd still be unresolved.

What is your stance on Bush's and Clinton's impeachment?

Injustice During 1984

2008-12-06T15:28:00.000-08:00

Friday, in class, we watched a movie called Minority Report where they would arrest people for murder before they actually committed the crime. This reminded me of a book I read last year called 1984. It was based on a totalitarian government (dictatorship). A principle they followed was arresting people based on thoughtcrime. Basically, if a person even hinted at being against the government, even if it was a twitch of an eye, they'd arrest the person and they'd probably end up being killed. This is wrong. I think it's wrong if a government accuses people and then arrests them just off of a hunch. This also clearly violates freedom of speech. A person should be allowed to voice their own opinions on something without being killed. I believe there should be diversity in a country, not have everyone blindly follow and agree what one ruler says.

Thankful on Thanksgiving

2008-11-29T10:19:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was this past Thursday and one of the things I am grateful for is the five day weekend we were given. :) I was supposed to go to my grandfather's house in Indiana for Thanksgiving day with the rest of my family, but those plans got cancelled when my sister came home a day late from college. It wasn't until I found out we weren't going tht I realized how excited I had been to go. I hadn't seen my grandpa in years and I was so looking forward to seeing him. I missed his house and the inside jokes we shared with each other. It was then when I realized how truly important family is and how much we should be grateful for them. Thankfully, my sister did come home from college this weekend and it felt really good to see her-her, too, I haven't seen in a while. Sometimes, I think, you can't appreciate someone until they've left you for a while.
What does family mean to you? What are you grateful for this Thanksgiving?

"I Want to Do Well"...No You Don't, Your Parents Do

2008-11-23T09:36:00.000-08:00

I was at the Girls State Meet yesterday. It is the meet that concludes the swim season-all the teams from Illinois came together to compete at the natatorium in Evanston. As I was watching the girls compete, I noticed the parents' reactions to their child swim. One set of parents stuck out to me-they cried from joy after their daughter swam. Which made me think of the complete opposite reaction in some parents. Since I'm a swimmer, I've been to many swim meets in my day, and with that, I've seen a number of parents who have gotten made at their child for swimming poorly.

And my question is, why? It doesn't make sense, and it doesn't seem right, for parents to yell and punish if they're child doesn't do as well as they want. And this includes all sports, not just swimming. I think it comes down to competitiveness. Parents want their child to succeed so much, to be the best, that some I think will do anything to "motivate" their child. They want their child to be better than other children. I've seen people crack under the pressure of their parents: they'd rather do well for the sake of their parents than for themselves. And this just seems unfair. So my other question is, what is your take on over-competitive parents? Why do you think they act like this?

Being Part of History

2008-11-07T14:31:00.001-08:00

Our 44th president of the United States was finally decided this past Tuesday and with it came a huge historical moment. Barack Obama is now our first African-American president; and I'm happy to say that he won by a large amount in electoral votes. I think it's so cool that I was able to witness this election...if only I was able to vote in it. When I'm older and have children and grand-children, I can share this historic event with them. To just think back to when slavery and segregation was around, it's amazing to see how much our country has grown and changed. I still think, though, that it will take time for our country to unite as a whole and accept that he's our president-obviously there were people that were against him.
Now it's just time to see what change Obama can bring. Starting in January, he'll start his presidency. My mom told me today that he's thought to be one of the most intelligent presidents we've ever had. It will be interesting to see how he deals with the crisis laid out in front of him.

Prayer in School

2008-11-01T15:26:00.001-07:00

Earlier this week, I came upon an article about religion in public schools. It stated that religious ritual in public schools would be the only way to teach "values" and ethics. This article also said that the banning of practice of bible and prayer recitation is the blame of rising teen pregnancy rates, crime, drug use, and violence. I realize that everyone has their own opinion and some people are more heavily into religion than others, but I think this went too far. Putting the blame for all these terrible things on no practice of religion is just crazy.

I feel that public schools should be a "religion free zone." It wouldn't be right for teachers to promote their religious beliefs to students; especially when there are so many families who have no religious ideology at all. What is your opinion on religion in public schools?

My College Applications are Done

2008-10-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

Lately my mother has been on my case with college stuff...and I'm not even a senior. I realize getting into a good college is ideal for everyone, and I too want to get a good education so that I can then get a good careeer, blah blah blah. But already my college counselor has come in and discussed our future. I'm barely 17; my future right now is what I'm having for dinner tonight. I don't want to look into colleges that I like; I'm just trying to get through the school day. For me, there's a lot of pressure to be looking at colleges already; not only from parents but from peers. It's scary to hear of students who have been preping for ACT tests or have been going on college visits since they were in junior high. What is the need to be looking into our future this much?

The First Amendment!

2008-10-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today in class we discussed our opinions on citizen/student rights. One of the topics was whether or not it was okay for newspapers to publish articles that contained false information. My group was torn in half. Two said that it was false advertisement, so therefore should be limited. Another group member said, however, that newspapers have the freedom of speech and press and so this act should be protected. I feel, too, that people have the freedom to write or say whatever they want. But at the same, writing false statements about people or things could be harmful to others. So I came up with the conclusion that it should be prohibited unless causing harm to others.
There are other topics like this that have caused controversy, like wearing shirts with obscene writing on it. Do you think it's okay for newspapers to publish false advertisement or for citizens to wear shirts with obscene writing on it?

To Take the Test or Not?

2008-10-16T08:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday during school my advisor mentioned that I was the only one in my advisery not taking the PSAT test. I didn't think anything of it. But then later that day I realized that I was the only one of my friends not taking the PSAT. And while talking to one of my friends about the PSAT, she sounded surprised at the fact that I had opted out of it. That made me start to worry. I had always thought that this test was no big deal. Yeah, there's a possibility to earn a scholarship, but you have to be pretty dang smart to get one of those, and I knew I was not a candidate for that. But this test does give you an idea of what your SAT scores will be; kind of like the PLAN test. Which got me thinking, should I take the SAT test?

My parents have always told me not to follow what everyone else does, but it worries me considering this has to do with getting into a college. I realize that getting into a good school is ideal to everyone, but are the SATs really that important especially if less and less colleges are looking at them?