Fried-man Reflection.

We had to read an article called "Yes, They Could. So They Did." on http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/opinion/15friedman.html?_r=1.

This article was actually one of the most non-boring articles I have ever read in my high-school life(which had stories at the same time and facts combined together). It had a bit of a story and some humor in this article. To keep this short, since most of the paragraphs were about facts, I would like to mention one of the sentences that really really caught my eye. I would also like to take it and make it as my conclusion.

“We wanted to find a way to bring people together around existing solutions to inspire more action and more innovation. There’s no time left to just talk about the problem.”

I agree a lot with this quote. Time is running out. The more we wait for other people to take action, the more the world is dying. We should make the first move, just like Angus's presentation. Even if it is a short goal, a medium goal, or a high reach goal, they are all something that can be started to motivate everyone. If everyone does a little bit for the world, added together, it would be a whole lot! Lets work together and make this world better! Save Our Earth! =)

All About Cross Dressing

There are stages in life: from childhood to teenager to adulthood. Each stage has their craziness. Yet, freedom is what makes this possible. From elementary it has been cooties, in middle school slowly guys and girls starts to understand how to bond with each other, yet in high school they slowly start to learn to respect each other. Yet, despite of all this, in high school, students get crazy in their lifetime.

It is more difficult for boys, because of society. The society we now are in is saying that boys have to be macho, we are influenced also by what stars and dancers are now wearing. Now in society, it is sort of a stereo type that girls have to wear as little as possible. They believe that is what is called sexy and will grab the opposite sex’s attention. Yet, as time goes on, society changes and from that time on, if guys wear short or anything tighter on themselves, it is mentioned as disturbing and gay.

I also find it amazing how girls can do so many things, yet as guys do all those things that girls do they are considered as different… In some ways I pity boys… The things that guys do are so limited that girls can almost do anything they want. How the fact tom-girls are allowed yet sissy guys are laughed at…

I believe cross-dressing is healthy. It is just simply fun that students have in school, for school is not only studying, it is also when students can go crazy and show their wild side! Also, cross-dressing is a choice each person can have. For instance, in our school not all people dressed up for cross-dressing. Therefore it gives each person a choice to be crazy or not, so it wouldn’t be unhealthy, because none of them were forced into this. Cross-dressing is just a little let-away for the students, which brings more colors into their lives. What really influences the people is the society. When you stand out and don’t belong to the group, you are than pointed out, and that is what makes people unhealthy. The comments the eyes that looks at those that are different are the poison that makes people unhealthy: the real killers or originality.

Reading About Civics

After reading this article – Ideas fro innovation, I have realized what I read had been similar to our school; HIS.  Yet in this reading, there are many extremes that I do not like.

            In this whole reading, there were 9 points. There were many things that I had agreed, but also disagreed. Simply, I feel that this whole article talks about how the new generation should have more chances, to work with the older generations.

            I would like to start with the first thing that caught my attention while reading. “…enables teachers to leave daily messages for parents..” I feel that this is a Big no. In this centaury, we should have our own privacy. I feel that having a teacher contacting and informing students and parents everyday is too much. It is not right to intrude the privacy of students.

            I am quite a random person, therefore I feel that I will first state that this might be a very random and everywhere article. I have read through the whole article and certain parts had caught my attention. I will talk about each little part by paragraph until I finish this article.

            The next paragraph that caught my attention were the sentences “ every student is well known by a teacher…” the world SPECIAL, and “ …build a stronger community…” I feel that this is what we have started to lack in our school. Yes, the teachers in our school may know the students, but how much does the teacher UNDERSTAND the student? I feel that knowledge and respect are also important, but what makes everything work, are the bonds you form and create between others. Though understanding and trust, you than build a stronger school community, because you are like a family.

            Like some teachers have said, you take from the community, you give back to the community. Community service is very important. It is fro you to give back to the community. A chance for you to give a helping hand to those that need it and also to those, which doesn’t need it. Either way, being able to help others is the best. You could also learn from others while you do community service. Life-long, live-experiences are things that you won’t be able to learn in school nor textbooks. Life experiences are those that worth the most and last a life long.

            Pressure is one factor that drives students to learn, yet it is also a factor that allows students not to experience. As and Asian, I shall not say that because of pressure in schoolwork, outside activities has been reduced. Asian parents do not allow that. They want their kids to be good in almost everything… I feel the academic field and pressure has gotten everyone to study and not have time for other things such as extracurricular activities from likes or enjoyment. They now are doing so to make it easier to applying for college. I feel that is not the way it should work.

            Students are key members. I really like this statement since Grant Ruskovich has been saying how it is us that keeps the school going, it is us that matters. We have already been doing this in out school HIS. The SRC is one of the examples. Students have the right to speak and SRC is the one that represents all of us when something is to be discussed, if all students have the ability to speak-out, the school society will be too messy and unorganized. Therefore, having the SRC, we have our say and have fewer amounts of problems on agreeing and disagreeing!

            As the reading does on, two more points caught my eye. Skills in youth leadership, and using volunteer citizen teachers to apprentice youth. For the first one giving skills in youth leadership, I feel that it is a main thing, for us youths should be given and able to take all the chances we got. Experience not only comes from school. Also, life experiences are a very important factor. The more you experience, the more you mature, and the more you are able to fit into society. The second one, using volunteer citizen teachers to apprentice youth, is not bad. Yet, I think what is bad is although it’s good to have your child “entertained” constantly, what a kid really needs is their parents and family to play and be with. A kid doesn’t need nannies or other people. What a child really needs is time with family, to be with family, and love from family. Nothing can take over your family.

            The last paragraph, the greedy me almost highlighted everything. Starting with the world FIX. Than tot eh sentence “ Educational leaders should enlist young people in thinking”, and lastly, “ We all then can work to effect these ideas.” What I would like to say about this is that I strongly agree with this and also think that this is very important. Yes, time is changing. Older generations have started to find it harder for them to follow up in what is going on. Technology, communication, even the way of thinking has changed. Now, younger people of the younger generation are more adventurous. They take chances and have cold ways of thinking. I feel and strongly believe that it will be a great combination for the older generation to work with the younger generations. Working together is what the world needs now.

            This whole reading has many great ideas. But simply all are stating how to help build and create a stronger community and society, and how to connect and create bonds, which can help support each other, to understand each other and make all people equal. We can also improve on those that we have done badly, how to change and turn all bad things around to good. By us working like this in our school also our school will be able to have a strong bond between everything, and make HIS into a different place compared to other places. A unique community place, like a second home for all of us.

 

Global Ethics In-Class Essay Semester 1

Global Ethics In-Class Essay.

What are the positive and negative impacts of globalization?

Humans may have had a short history on this earth, but so much has happened in our short existence. From the cave men to the 21^st centaury we have improved unconditionally. Yet one thing that has helped us become connected as people is globalization. One may ask what is globalization and what does it have to do with humans According to Wiki, globalization can be described as a process by which the people of the world are unified into a single society and function together. This process is a combination of economic, technological, social culture and political forces. Yet in every process, every choice, there will be positive and negatives.

In the 21^st century, humanity has improved a lot through its ideas and knowledge. The three things that show and prove this are our economy, understanding other cultures and respecting them, and lastly solving common problems together. As I said in the previous paragraph, globalization is what connects all of us to become one. It is through trade, foreign direct investment, capital flows, migration, and the spread of technology. There will be only some which I will talk about and I would like to start with a man we all know, Marco Polo. Marco Polo was in simple words, a trader. He had traveled to China to trade and to share ideas. It was through trade in which humanity started to communicate, despite of the great distances. Marco Polo was European. When he went to China, culture was differed, yet because of respect from both sides, they were able to develop more understanding.

Today now, many companies have already moved to other countries and made connections with people around the world. Because of this, more understanding between people and cultures are stated, more ideas are shared, and more technology is developed. This s when we work together to produce different discoveries, products, and improve technology. This leads into world trade. With the improvement of technology, we can now think critically. How does one benefit for the best and cheapest products and services. In the book; The World Is Flat by Thomas L. Friedman, it talks about how from horsepower to railroads, to PC’s our world has slowly become a flat surface in which we are all connected. It is giving all competitors an equal opportunity as long as one has the education and skill. Rich or poor is not the problem considered anymore. An example of this is Microsoft. They have given people in less developed countries the opportunity to work for them. They may not have plugs for a computer or a nice office, yet they find ways, like riding on the bike to charge power for a computer or using an antenna to receive internet connection. In countries like India and China, it is a great opportunity for them. As we connect more as one, we have also gotten together to solve global problems; for instance, education, the problem of poverty, and now global warming. We have connected with many other countries and created organizations such as UNICEF. It is because of these globalizations in which we can achieve all these goals.

Yet there is a downside to globalization like all other things. Because of globalization, ideas are shared and the originality of cultures is slowly disappearing. In other words, the word “Americanized” means original cultures are manipulated, for people forget their own culture and think that highly developed countries such as America are the best. An example of this is the apparel, which people wear now: jeans and t-shirt. China, Japan, and Korea are clear examples since they do not wear thejr traditional outfits now.

It has been good for developed countries to keep those countries undeveloped. Yet the developed countries have taken advantage of this. They have been treating the workers without respect. Giving them not only low pay, but also had living conditions. This is just inhumane. Other problems which globalization has caused are pollution, overuse of resources, and the worst, extinction. An example of each of them are the Love Canal incident, which had polluted and caused destruction to families; the cutting of rainforests in Brazil and Borneo; and lastly, Chinese wanting Rhino horn, since it is a good ingredient for some Chinese medicine. Yet because of this, many animals of the rain forests and Rhinos in Africa have started to die out and become extinct.

Another problem can be seen with companies, which have moved overseas to avoid paying taxes, remove the health insurance of workers, and limit the amount spent on cleaning up pollution created has caused further destruction to our world. Yet many companies do not see this problem, for they have been blinded by money and power. Yet because of money and power, world trade has been interdependent with each other. Look at the economy crises now. Wall street in New York has collapsed. Because the global economy depends on each other, this big fall-out of the economy has impacted the whole world.

Although globalization can cause so much destruction to our world, it is still like a big tape that holds us all together. It is because of globalization that we share ideas, yet if we do not share ideas, there will be a huge impact in culture and economy. Which would start conflict, which leads to war and terrorism. I would like to quote Keith Porter in his article Globalization: What Is It from About.com. “ Globalization describes the political, economic, and cultural atmosphere of today.” Followed by an excerpt of the book The World Is Flat. “ Sharing of knowledge and work in real time with no regulation or geography, distance, or language.” People would have stopped globalizing each other by now if globalization was that bad. Globalization is good. That is why everybody is pushing for globalization. Although we differ in appearance and culture, we are more connected to each other than ever before. Globalization is the thing that connects us all as one which keeps peace in the world and improves us all by teamwork. Helping to make out world better.

I am not sure if the way I am making connections with the movie “ The End of Suburbia” and Taiwan right. Yet, Due to the fact I was sick when we were watching the movie, I was half alive to know what was going on. I grasped some concepts and here are the connections that I could somehow tie together.
The first point would be the fact that in America, the industrial places have been polluted and have become a horrible place to live. Yet I cannot agree with that. I live in Hsinhcu and it is a place where industries and technology are invented and produced. I feel very happy living in Hsinchu and have no problem with anything.
The most important point of all is that resources are all being used up. Those resources are not restorative. No matter if you are in Taiwan or Us or even Antarctica the resources are starting to be used up. Yet the difference now, which I would like to add in, is that Taiwan has already made an improvement. Taipei has already tried to reduce the transportation problem by including metro. The other way that Taiwan has been improving is by creating the High Speed Rail. Because of this High Speed Rail, people are able to get around the whole Taiwan in short periods of time. Lastly, ITRI (Industrial Technology Research Institute) has had the idea of electric motorcycles. Some of the teachers in our school have already gotten them in use. Because of all these transportation ideas, the need of Oil is reducing. Yet in American, not much has been done.
I feel although so much is happening around the world, no matter where we are, we can all make a difference.

"everything eventually morphs into the way the world is." (top page 158)
".....conform the irregularity of nature to the precision and control of a machine." (top page 165)

As i read through the reading, one word kept on popping out in my brain. What does organic have to do with Enron? Enron wasn't organic, they also certainly didn't plant or grow crops, nor did they produce milk...

To be continued...

Enron - The #1 of "EVERYTHING"

The word “hubris” means, excessive pride or self-confidence. It is said by people that the reason Enron would collapse is because of this word.

In many ways, there are so much in common from the Enron movie to what we studied about last year. It all starts with the fruit of knowledge. It is because that we humans had eaten the fruit of knowledge that we know what is right or wrong. By doing this, Man knows there is power. When man gets power, they tend to want to rule, to want more. Here is an example right in front of us. We give men power, they want more; therefore he takes over more, and does little actions to get what he wants. It is just like a story, “If you give a monkey a peanut, he will ask for a banana, if you give it the banana, he will ask for a coconut to go with that banana.”

It is once said from Ishmael that mother culture hums in our ears. Mother culture tells us what should be done, and what the society wants. The way that the society works has made us into monsters, which only value things such as power and money. In Enron, people inside believe that as long as you have money, as long as you have power, nothing would matter, nothing should matter, not even killing people.

The two people which were part of this big event is Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling.
What had happened to them after being judged guilty?

Kenneth Lay:

Sadly, Kenneth Lay had died before his sentencing of the Enron incident. He was on a vacation in Snowmass, Colorado. They believed his death was due to a heart attack, which he had had before. It was July 5, 2006, 3:11 AM. Four days after the tragic incident, a funeral was held for him. It was a small funeral for friends and family with only about 200 people. After a week, a memorial was held for him. Many more attended this time, including George Bush. Since Lay was dead already, his conviction was cancelled.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Lay

Jeffrey Skilling:

Many people spoke for Jeffrey, trying to manipulate the idea of the actions he had done. Stating that he had done all only to save the company and that everything was for the company. This all happened starting on April 3, 2008. Until now he has been and is still in prison. Just last month, October 30th, 2008 he was moved into a low-security prison in Littleton, Colo.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Skilling

Source:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A370269
http://sidesplitters.catastrophe.net/arch/2002/enron-shredder.gif

Behind the covers to reality

We watched a reality TV show. I believe that since it was a TV show, most of what was going to happen were all planned out beforehand.
As I watched the video, I felt that those people were a bit too naive... In some ways, it was great that they had the experience to go to India to work, yet they should realize what poverty is like. I didn't find it so contrasted for me because in my english class we had once spoken about the topic poverty.
Yet, I believe that it was a good chance since those people were all from the fashion district. After going to my internship, that was when I noticed that you will not understand the background and the reality of some things until you have experienced what is behind.
I believe these people had indeed experienced the background behind all of fashion, and because of this experience, they will never see fashion the same way which they had before.

Reliving 1984?

We had reading about Why Psychogeography?
In reading this, we talked about how if it was possible to make a place something new and to have a new perspective. I suddenly had a idea, in the book 1984, we read about how every move you made was viewed and judged, because Big Brother is watching you. Would there also be a new perspective on places? Will there also be a place that is a secret hideout away from the Big Brother society? I find it interesting how it would work if the society of 1984. That would be an interesting thought.

To the other side of the world

It was a really big experience to actually talk to a real artist on the other side of the world, Soule Goldin. It was really hard to understand what the artist was talking about because the sound wasn't that clear... but what I understood from the conversation was simply, that she told us about her job. How she has 2 jobs. One which was working in the community, in a theater place to help them with props and costumes. She also explained what kinds of works she did, how she made it. One thing that she especially liked to do was making clothes since she's a fashion designer. She took out some shapes that she had drawn and cut out herself-- she designed her own stencils. She likes to make her own special shirts with special meaning. The last thing I remembered was her portfolio that she had shown us. One of the works in the portfolio was an outfit for a ballet dancer. The theme was mac apple computers. Most importantly, we were introduced to a book that simply told every step involved in making a t-shirt. It was about the ecological footprint of a t-shirt.