According to J. Stevens in an essay published by Cornell University Law School, in March to June of 2000, the Supreme court held a case called Santa Fe Independent School Dist. v. Doe concerning prayer at football events and graduation ceremonies.  The final decision said that prayer on a “public address system” given by a student that represents the student body is unconstitutional(J.Stevens). How is that in any way unconstitutional? Schools should not only allow prayer, but they should also practice it as a whole community of students. Prayer in public does not interfere with the rights of the public if it is recited over an intercom system; it is more of an expression of a love of God and a dependence on Him. Students aren’t forced to get on the loud speaker and pray, they volunteer, so how is that wrong? No one is forced to pray with them; they could just sit quietly in silence until the prayer is over. I personally have felt the need to talk to Christian friends and teachers who can help me with problems I have inside of and out of school. I can trust them to help me and pray with  me about things that I can’t control. I have two friends on the school faculty who I can always go to that help me with problems and situations, and I think that is perfectly fine and shouldn’t be scoffed at by people who think that discussing religion is unconstitutional. I know that there are some controversies with prayer, such as which religion should be the main one, but that problem could be solved by asking the students to vote and see which religion they follow. Prayer doesn’t take away freedom of religion at all, but simply adds to the freedom of expression.

Claim: Prayer should be allowed in public schools, but should not be forced.

Data: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Warrant: Because the Constitution guarantees that no religion shall be forced onto citizens, students should not be forced to participate in other religions. Sure, students have a freedom of speech so that they can pray in school with one another, but they cannot force others into their beliefs.

Backing/Qualifier: As a Christian, I would want nothing more than for teachers and school officials to openly pray with their students. However, I understand that some students would feel uncomfortable with prayer out in the open so their rights given by the first ammendment should be respected. I know a few students who do not participate in any religious activities and would feel very awkward during a morning prayer in a class room.

Reservation: I understand that sometimes prayer is acceptable in schools, and even necessary, such as in a case where a religious club plans an activity or a student is severly hurt. If the students agree to pray together then that’s fine, but all students should be asked permission.

Plain and simple, girls look for boys, all the time. They look in stores, on the street, through car windows, in movies.  When they find the one they want, they remember, and never forget. In a similar way, a good reader looks for rhetoric, in books, magazines, movies, songs. Once they find that perfect use of hyperbole or parallelism, they write it down, or keep a brain sticky-note, so they don’t forget it.

• Anaphora:  “…I’m sorry I’m bad, I’m sorry I’m blue, I’m sorry about all the things I said to you…” [Sorry by Buckcherry]
• Repetition: “I’ve never given much thought to how I would die. But, dying in the place of someone I love seems like a good way to go.” [Bella, in Twilight, says this line at the beginning of the movie, and again in the end whenever she might possibly die.]
• Rhetorical Question: “Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?” [Complicated, by Avril Lavigne]
• Parallelism: “…You’re hot then you’re cold, you’re yes then you’re no, you’re in then you’re out, you’re up then you’re down, you’re wrong when it’s right, it’s black and it’s white, we fight we break up, we kiss we make up…”[Hot N Cold by Katy Perry]
• Antimetabole: “Champagne for my real friends, real pain for my sham friends”[title of a song by Fall Out Boy]

Latin America  was last topic on my list of research.  I didn’t plan on picking a topic very in depth, but because I love reading about different people, I figured I could handle one pretty controversial topic.  The L.A. Times did a very good job of examining Latin America through their local affairs.  The authors did a very good job of explaining the different problems in and around their region.  One main point that was brought up several times in the posts was gang violence between the different racial groups in and around Los Angeles.  Because I am a very sheltered girl living in a very small town, I have kind of gotten used to not being around talk of gangs or murder, besides on movies of course.  As I read about different topics discussing violence, I couldn’t help but be a little shocked at what all was going on in the small world around me.  These hate crimes that are happening so close to home could be so easily stopped if people would learn to get along, but I guess that can never completely happen.

Another story about another country all together that really shocked me was one about a Guatemalan child who was kidnapped from her mother and then put up for adoption.  The mother was distressed for months, searching every hospital and orphanage she could find for her baby girl.  She finally found the girl and convinced the adoption officials to do DNA tests to see if the child was hers.  The tests confirmed that the child was hers, and was unlawfully taken from her.  The couple that had taken her from her mother so many months ago kidnapped the child for the adoption money.  I thought that story was so sad, because that means there are probably many more children who have been taken from their birth parents, only to be put in orphanages with hopes of being adopted.

Problems in education have been an ongoing controversy since before I was born.  From the ACT to SAT to ACTAAP to any other letters people feel like throwing together, testing happens, and with that testing, arguments.  The Education segment of L.A. Times contains many controversial stories all pertaining to, of course, education.

In one post, there was a group of about four hundred students who all have to retake AP exams due to poor monitoring.  The test proctors allowed the students to leave the classroom in groups, sit close, use cell phones, and even read text books during several of their exams.  Because all of this was discovered by higher groups, the students’ scores are being called void.  If these students want credit, they must retake the exam in a different location later in August.  While I do agree that the tests should not be used, I can’t help but pity the few students who worked hard and didn’t cheat on their tests.  As far as the school knows, only ten of the students admitted to cheating, so that could leave over three hundred students with perfectly applicable tests, but they are not being used.  I know that is irrational to assume, but still, it is somewhat possible.

Other stories discussed increasing dropout rates, as well as new methods for tracking students that dropped out, so officials could uncover their reasons for doing so.  Another topic was the fact that Asian students seem to be doing better on their standardized tests than Latino students, which caused some drama in Lincoln High School, not becasue of the students, but the teachers.  The subjects of problems goes on and on for this education segment.  L.A. Times does a very good job of expressing their views on education systems locally as well as around the world.

The environment is something I have always found interesting.  The Blue Marble is definitely a feed I found very helpful.  With a variety of authors, the stories showed different opinions that were all related in one way, they were trying to help our planet.  Many of the entries were centered on discovering efficient alternative fuels.  They seemed to really admire the work of our country as well as other countries when it came to discovering biofuels.  When these people wrote, they were not only concerned with the betterment of themselves.  They also worried about other countries and wildlife, which brings about another topic.  These authors, especially Julia Whitty, seemed deeply distressed about the condition of our forests and other habitats for the wildlife on our planet.  They all had a genuine concern for all plant and animal species.  Authors such as Julia Whitty, Josh Harkinson, and Kiera Butler all discussed scandals in pollution.  One topic in particular that really hit me was that one company produces pollution on purpose, for a fee of course, just so another can get money for stopping it.  If these companies are allowed to do that, then what else will happen?  Over my hours of reading, I realized that our planet needs help.  There need to be people on this Earth that can not only talk the talk, but also walk the walk of fixing our planet, not for themselves, but for generations to come.

             Blog.  I’m sure everyone in the United States knows what that word means.  Blogs seem to be turning into personal journals, as well as homework helpers.  They are an excellent way of getting one’s opinion into the world, which was very hard before Internet.  Blogs are becoming a new school necessity, especially for English classes.  While exploring student blogs, three stuck out to me as being unique, or just interesting.

            One example of a very well thought-out blog is Greater Omaha.  Embedded inside of every entry, the author gives some of his insight to his generation and the world around him.  All of his posts show what he thinks about different topics that range from divorce to technology.  Metaphor, one main component of all literature, was used in every entry, which helped to further explain the author’s stance on certain issues.  Drew, the author, takes simple, seemingly insignificant details of life and connects them to larger controversies.  He also takes specific stands on moral issues and discusses them with understanding to different opinions of others, so he does not seem to be pressing his beliefs onto the reader.  One of my favorite parts of his blog was the “About Me” section.  In this section, he used poetry as well as random ideas to explain his background and character.  The layout of Drew’s blog has some differences to the other blogs in his group.  He used a song to title his page, and explained his choice using the lyrics of the song, which is unique.  His page was very easy to maneuver and understand, although his writing was very advanced and sometimes challenging to read.  The simplicity of the appearance of his blog is greatly appreciated, because some people, me included, struggle with technology and think it’s hard to find certain topics or entries on a website.  Drew put most of his entries on the first page, getting straight to what the whole blog is about, his thoughts.

            The next blog that caught my attention is titled thetriangle, written by a high school student.  In this blog, the author does not categorize her posts, but some of them share certain themes.  The posts titled I’m Still Here, Illegal Hiring, A Glance at the Other Side, What’s in a Number, and What’s happening to the American Pocket all discuss our country and politics.  The other posts have to do with the superficial side of the author’s generation.  One part of this blog that I liked a bunch was in the post titled I’m Still Here, where the author started the post with a photograph of a child covered in dirt, drinking from a dirty bowl.  This photo showed the reader an illustration of the hidden poverty that is discussed in the article, which is very smart.  While thetriangle is very well thought out in the posts, the layout of the actual blog is kind of confusing.  It took me a few minutes to figure out how to get from place to place, because of the spacing of the side panel.  However, since the content is way more important than the style, this blog is definitely good.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to read about current events.

            As my search was coming to an end, I found one more blog that really stuck out to me, a student blog called Future Effects.  The full title is actually Future Effects-The Long-Term Effects of Child Abuse.  Because this is about something to do with children, the blog really stuck out to me, because I love kids.  The layout definitely meshed with the title, because the colors are dark and just not very happy-looking.  The posts were organized, but they lacked personal outlook on the subject, which I think is important for a something like child abuse.  This site seems fit for a link to information about child abuse because of all of the sites used to make it.  The posts talk about organizations directed toward child abuse that are for people in need.  One thing that really made me mad was the posts about the organizations.  The students said that they tried to contact the organizations and they were impossible to get in touch with.  One student said they personally called and got no answer.  If an organization is supposed to prevent child abuse then they should always have their lines open to people in need.   Over all, this blog has a good topic that needs to be discussed, and seems to be a great link to people who need help with abuse.

            Blogs seem to be the journals of the future, but also windows to exploring new ideas.  Each blog I looked at had something different and unique to discuss.  Each one also had its own personal touch given to it by the author.  I picked three, but there are many more blogs out there with personal stories to be shared.

Murder.  In the United States, approximately seventeen thousand people are murdered each year.  However, when the United States’ officials estimated that total, they left out the nearly two million children who are murdered by their mothers each year.  Though these statistics seem very scary, most people in this country accept this practice more commonly known as abortion.  In some situations, abortion is the only logical option, such as cases of rape, where the girl will die if she delivers the child.  But, almost ninety-three percent of abortions are done because of social reasons like the child is unwanted or inconvenient.  When used as birth control, abortions are wrong.  This practice harms the mother just as much as the child she has murdered.

 Abortion is against the Bible.  The words “with child” are mentioned twenty-six times in the Bible, and not once does the statement “with fetus” or “with a blob of tissue” come into the picture.  That is because, although the child is not fully formed, the child is real and is growing.  Proverbs 6:16-17 says, “There are six things in which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to him, haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood.”  What do the children living inside of their mother’s do that is so wrong?  The answer is nothing.  These children have done nothing wrong or harmful, and therefore do not deserve the death punishment.  The golden rule, which is stated throughout the whole Bible, says “treat others the same way you would want them to treat you.”  Also, by legalizing abortion in all circumstances, people are more likely to do wrong actions such as commit adultery, because they can rid themselves of a baby incase of an accident.

 Abortions are performed in some of the most immoral and gruesome ways possible.  In the United States, abortion surgery can be done four ways.  The suction type abortion is done by literally vacuuming the child out of the mother’s womb.  Another two types of abortion are both similar in that the child is cut out of the mother’s womb.  In one, the child is cut out with a spoon like object.  With the other, the child is cut out and allowed to suffocate because the lungs of the child are not fully developed and cannot obtain oxygen.  The Salt Brine technique is one of the most inhumane.  Injected with a strong salt solution, the child is literally “pickled,” meaning that the moisture is sucked out, and then the child is born dead.  Some United States citizens want partial-birth abortions to be legalized.  This surgery requires the child being born, then stabbed in the skull, and the brains of the innocent child are sucked out.  All of these methods, legal and not, are very immoral.  The child is cruelly murdered, and the mother is allowed to walk away with no legal action taken towards her (Melton, 1996).

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