what makes a book a classic?

    Edit:  Yet again, here is my obligatory this-is-an-old-paper.  

What makes a book a classic?  While there is no literary cannon committee, there are some notable authorities on the subject; politicians, professors, and well-off publishing companies seem to have more power over which works of literature are distributed in a broader range, but, who is in charge of deciding what books that pupils are designated to read? 

With Frankenstein, a new literary genre was born.  In Jane Eyre, we see a character grow up and develop before our very eyes.  Animal Farm enlightened us on the futile aspects of the government which some refused to acknowledge.  The Hunger Games mixed genre boundaries and created a post-apocalyptic society.  

 Every semester, students are assigned certain books which they have to read, write papers on, and answer tests on.  However, who should pick these books?  If it is left up to an appointed committee, what would be the qualifications for committee members?  Would the committee attempt to push an agenda?  If the book selection is left up to individual schools or teachers, what can be said about accreditation?  If every school or even class had a different to-read list, could the credits obtained from taking that course be transferable?  

Should students be required to read a book that they do not enjoy?  If they are, they may fall in love with a story which they never would have expected.  But, they also might grow to dislike reading by reading things which they consider to be boring.  If they are not forced to read certain books, will they miss out on a wonderful story or discovering a new favorite author?  With some students, it could be questioned that if they are not required to read, will they even read at all?  

One book that I believe should certainly be a required read is Animal Farm by George Orwell.  In this book, Orwell gives a satirical overview of the Russian Revolution and communism.  He discusses leaders without ever saying their real names.  He sticks to history and tells the inside story.  It is a classic due to the ingenious telling of the story, being a timeless tale (those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it), and its historical relevance.

            While any book can be argued as a classic, only some books are capable of altering society.  Books, essentially, are just compilations of words.  Words create ideas, and ideas can change the world.  So, if you want to make a difference, pick up a book, it can give you a whole new perspective.

why we love horror

  Edit:  Here's an old paper that I enjoyed and thought that you would, too.  I plan on posting a lot of these.  :)

            We are not immaculate, nor are we immutable.  We are not indispensable; and we are most certainly not forever.  What are we?  We are humans, lest we forget that.

            We go through our everyday lives expecting great things.  We aim for high test scores, many goals in a sports game, acceptance into a large college, marriage to a financially stable individual, and intelligent children whom are able to repeat the cycle.  But, what is it all for?  Our culture mirrors a race; a race in which everyone is running away from the finish line, even though no one seems to know where it is or what is on the side.

            These day to day interactions which our society encourages; getting good grades in school - just so that one get accepted into a nice college.  After that, one can graduate with a trusty degree and a well-paying job.  Money is a root in which we find comfort.  It is physical and produces mostly concrete rewards.  Money can pay for electricity, vehicles, technology, medical care and even a child.

            All of the things which money can buy can be registered with our five senses.  We use it as our motivator to navigate daily stressors.  Despite this, even scientists believe that there is something more; identified at ‘Psi’ by them STEM field, extra-sensory perception by skeptics, and Spirituality by Christianity, whatever you want to call it, three in four Americans believe in a form supernatural activity (Moore.)

            There is something about a reminder that we are ephermal; here for a moment and gone the next.  The horror and gore of a car accident shows us what we are truly made of (pun intended) and it forces us to tear down our walls.

            Frankenstein, a classic novel by M. Shelley, reflects these concepts.  It perfectly shows how we are fascinated by horror and the concept of life itself.  It is a timeless classic which perfectly illustrates how valuable life really is, and how we should not distract ourselves from that.  

Works Cited

Moore, David W. Three in Four Americans Believe in Paranormal.  Gallup, 16 June 2005.  Web.  7 April 2016.

the sociology and senselessness of twenty-sixteen

Edit:  I have many worldwide readers, however, this particular post mainly pertains to American cultures and subcultures.  I'm a huge lover of globalization and will post plenty on that, promise.  However, to recap an entire year for a country that I've never seen first hand is a bit difficult.  53% of my blog readers are American, but I love my 47% equally!

  2016 has been quite the year.  Natural disasters to major celebrity deaths to hit movies to dumb people to new waves of technology - 2016 shaped us all. 
 
  One common theme for the year has been "2016 ruined us all", but, truthfully, I see this as a diversion of blame.  We mess ourselves up.  If we ruined our year, it was our fault for doing so, and not the years.  Father Time isn't sitting up in a pedestal somewhere laughing at Gen-Z and Millennial running around terrified.  No.  As a culture, we are going through major shifts, and this particular year has shown some ill effects.  In sociology, there are five ways in which a culture can change, and I believe that our Western culture has changed in all five.  Allow me to explain. 

  1.) Discovery

  Essentially, paying attention to something that we never knew existed.  On a menial note, Joe Biden has existed since 1942, yet he did not hit popularity for Gen-Zs and Millennials until this year.

   Yet, on a more serious note, we truly discovered the ills of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Matthew on the East Coast and the wildfires in Virginia/Tennessee/North Carolina.  But that's depressing and serious.  Have some more memes. 

  2.)  Invention

  Oh my, do I even have to elaborate?  We are in a time of technological invention!  Ironically, even though most of us find ourselves constantly surrounded by technology, if we were to be submerged into a past time, we would be of no help because we don't understand how any of it works.  What a strange time that we live in. 

  3.)  Diffusion

  Our clothing styles from overseas, our music, television, and movie culture rapidly adoring the Brits (okay, but seriously, why are so many of our things British?).  Anime and Hentai (gulp) are huge.  We are adopting the ideologies and becoming more global.

  4.)  Acculturation 

  See above.  Can you name more than three members of One Direction?  Yeah, I'm ashamed, too.

  5.)  Assimilation

  Although I believe that we have failed to reach this point, between immigrants and expats, we are approaching this point.

   I wish I could make some drastic ending point to make my English teacher proud, but honestly, I'm just going to conclude this post with some more memes.  Because, you know.  Memes.

 

"they don't know how good they have it,"

  I stood in line anxiously awaiting my Mini Shredded Chicken Quesadilla.  I could see the Taco Bell employee from where I stood - lost in the world of her iPhone.  I sighed and took in the situation around me.  A little girl bounced behind me, begging her mother to buy her more of the crunchy cinnamon fry things (no idea what they're called but they were a highlight of my childhood).

  It wasn't until I heard, "they don't know how good they have it," that I noticed the conversation of two men to my right.  One was a veteran.  One was an emergency responder from New York City.  Here they stood, in the same Taco Bell as I, waiting on the same employee to cook their food (it's worth noting that my total wait time was 22 minutes.  Just sayin'.)

  "These kids today.  They complain when they can't speak about their genders, but when I served, people would be blown up just for their genders."

  I grabbed my phone from my pocket and stared at the blank screen, eavesdropping on their conversation.

  "I guess it isn't their fault, they've never known a struggle," the New York native responded, "but, isn't that what we've been working towards?  Their right to know innocence and not of the war?"

  My respect for these men grew.  Rather than the "those Millennial kids!" or "always in an iPhone!" they admitted that we didn't raise ourselves.  This is all that we know - innocence.  The older generations have fought for our rights to know screams of laughter and not screams of pain.  They aspired for us to choose our exposure levels as consenting adults, not have it forced upon us as children.  Yet. it seems as if that is forgotten.

  I feel as if they read my mind.

  "So many complain that they're spoiled, but we made them that way,"

  I wanted to hug these guys.

  Their conversation shifted to Obama and Trump and I broke in, it wasn't long before one of the men had their order called and they parted.

  This conversation gave me hope for my generation.  Not everyone thinks that we are spoiled little brats, we are, in fact, naive.  Is it because we are young?  It's too early to tell.  We need to know what we have not seen.  This is one reason that I believe globalization is essential for us.

  I may only 18, but the conversation I overheard with random men in Taco Bell has made me chosen to become aware of my surroundings.  I will be aware of the children dying in the streets and the men dying on the front lines.  I will know how good I have it.  And I will use the platform wisely.

why i'm not a feminist

 

           Historically, women have had it rough; high rape and violence rates and less reported income to what the man makes, one can imagine why there is a movement made in their favor.  However, with a higher case of being imprisoned, an increased risk of work-related fatalities, higher suicide rates, and discrimination by family courts, men are being shorthanded as well.  While most are still are concerned with the career and college success of females, many school faculty believe that our generation is entering an epidemic for academic failure among our men.  If one identifies as anything other than cisgender, they can forget a life of comfort.  Although tradition has stated that women may have more difficulty in everyday life, studies are beginning to prove that no matter the gender; the battle for sexuality wages on, and the war is far from over.

            It has been reported that one out of every six American women will be the victim of a form of sexual assault; and there are currently 17.7 million female rape victims in the United States (Tjaden and Thoennes).  Out of everyone whom is killed by an intimate partner, 96% are female (American Psychological Association).  It has also been said that women make less than men, ranging from 0.77-0.79 cents on the dollar, depending on which source you look at.

Men are not victimless in the sexual discrimination of society, either.  In only 10% of divorce situations involving dependent children does the man receive custody (Berlatsky).  Of all work related fatalities, 93% were men (Rampell).  Another frightening challenge against men is the fact that 93.3% of all inmates are cisgender of identifying as males (Federal Bureau of Prisons.)  Out of 4,483 individuals whom took their own lives in 1997, only 701 of them were female, the rest, all 3,782 of them, were male (Sommers 284).

For the entire duration of Generation Z’s (born from 1995-2015, respectively) middle and high school career, they have been told that there is chronic shortage of women in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields, and that females are academically falling behind their male counterparts.  Yet, the understated studies seem to disagree.  In 1996, roughly 8.4 million women were enrolled full-time in a higher education facility, however, only 6.7 men were (Sommers 285). In addition, fewer low-income, high-risk for drop out young men complete any type of standardized testing.  That is, if they even identify with a traditional gender at all.  

Classified as a mental illness, transgenderism, sometimes referred to as Gender Identity Disorder, plagues many individuals.  In her article, The M/F Boxes, E.J. Graff writes about numerous instances of job termination, psychiatric hospitalization, homicide, and medial abuse due to someone who chose to step outside of the societal boxes of their biological gender roles.  In addition to a mental state altering a gender identity, one in 2,000 infants is born with reproductive organs which are unidentifiable as to which gender they are, and unfortunately, sometimes causing the doctors to surgically assign a gender to the child, without receiving parental approval (Graff 250).

Although we were denied rights for centuries, women now have more rights than ever.  To argue that feminism is a current issue would be to dwell on the past.  Our society has progressed to the point that both genders have reached an equal level of suffering and both need help to break the molds which hold them in.  Rather than advocating for the archaic view of feminism, I would like to consider myself an egalitarian.

Works Cited

Berlatsky, Noah. When Men Experience Sexism.  The Atlantic, 29 May 2013.  Web.  4 April 2016.

Graff, E.J.  “The M/F Boxes.”  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas.  Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell.  8^th ed.  Boston: Pearson, 2014. 249-55.  Print.

Inmate Gender. Federal Bureau of Prisons, 27 February 2016. Web. 4 April 2016.

Intimate Partner Violence: Facts & Resources.  American Psychological Association.   Washington, DC: American Psychological Association Public Interest Directorate. 2016. Web.

Rampell, Catherine.  Why Did Workplace Deaths Decline in 2008? Economix: Explaining the Science of Everyday Life, 31 August 2009.  Web.  4 April 2016.

Sommers, Christina Hoff.  “The War Against Boys.”  The Blair Reader: Exploring Issues and Ideas.  Ed. Laurie G. Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell.  8^th ed.  Boston: Pearson, 2014. 283-87.  Print.

Tjaden, Patricia, and Thoennes, Nancy.  “Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings From the National Violence Against Women Survey.”

8 reasons that i love homeschooling

 Homeschool:  When a child is schooled in a non-traditional setting.  Public schools, private schools, charter schools, online schools, and tutoring are different entities.  The parent or guardian either instructs or determines the instruction of the child according to state standards.

ADD:  Attention Deficit Disorder

ADHD:  Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder

Homework:  Out-of-classroom work sent home for completion

Co-Op:   A group of homeschoolers offering classes for the students in a school-like setting

Dual-Enrollment:  11th + 12th grade students taking classes offered through a college or university that can carry over into credit after graduation.  Different from early college programs.



  Since kindergarten, I've been a member of the good 'ole homeschooling club.  I've missed out on socialization, proms, a quality education, and being a functioning member of society.  Justtt kiddinggg.  If anything, homeschooling has been the best option for my education!  Here are the top ten reasons why I love homeschooling, and you should, too!

8.)  homeschooled kids aren't as violent
  Okay, we had our basic chicks, hoes, man whores, emo kids, and the stereotypical sheltered homeschool children.  Cliques and bullying was present.  However, generally, homeschooled children aren't violent.
  12% of students claim that there are gangs at their school.  9% of teachers have been threatened by a student.  7.8% of kids have been in a fight on school grounds.  20.2% of kids report being bullied on school grounds - 15% have been bullied electronically. 
  Guess how many of these kids were homeschooled?  None of them.

7.) homeschooling children with add/adhd can reduce symptoms
  "Sit down, be quiet." How can a child be a child when every aspect of their lives is mandated?  Children aren't meant to sit still.  Children are meant to learn by curiosity, not by force.  In fact, homeschooled children with a diagnosis of ADD or ADHD are less likely to need medication. 
  I've read story after story of homeschooling being beneficial for children with these conditions.

6.)  less homework (or more?)
  I'll make the totally lame claim of isn't-all-of-your-schoolwork-homework, because if you're homeschooled, you totally haven't heard that one before.  *eye roll*
  In fact, homework has few added benefits that can't be obtained through a general attitude shift.   

5.)  i actually know my family
  In all those times where I wasn't confined to a group of people exactly like me, I was with my family.  People older than me.  People I can learn from.  I gained so much from the phonics homework in the wee hours of the morning, so much more than how to read a dictionary.


4.)  i have a varying group of friends
   Reestablishing that in a public school there are a forced group of children in the same geographical area, same socioeconomic area, same age, and same education level, there isn't much to learn.  However, in my homeschool co-op classes, that's not how things were.  For example, generally, the highschool classes served 8th-12th graders, as long as certain prerequisites had been met.  We lived within a 30-45 minute driving range.  Some of us had plenty of money, but some of us were being fostered by impoverished grandparents.  There were Wiccans, Atheists, Fundamentalist Christians, and Mormons.

3.)  free college!
  Most states offer a dual-enrollment program  (don't know if your state does?  Check here: http://ecs.force.com/mbdata/mbprofallRT?Rep=DE15A ).  For a public schooled student, there are  *typically* heavier restrictions (can't take classes during certain hours/only allowed to take non-core classes/can only take a certain amount of classes at a time, etc).  Since homeschoolers generally complete their core classes earlier, they have the opportunity to take more classes for college credit, making college cheaper (por ejemplo - I'm bringing 45 credits over).

2.)  i had free creative time
   Less time sitting in a classroom?  More unstructured play time!  Oh my goodness, the benefits of play time.  As I got older, that free time was spent in college classes and work, but when I was young, simply playing gave me a world of benefits. 

1.)  i'm crazy independent 
   I've always done my schoolwork by myself.  I've always signed myself up for classes.  I've job-hunter.  I bought my own car (saving up the money + hunting it down + insurance + tags and stuff). I've applied to universities.  I've taken care of textbooks.  I've helped to pay the rent and utilities and everything.  I'm your average 18-year old, only that I've been used to being independent for a while (doing schoolwork on my own), so none of this scares me.  It's simply what I know.

  Homeschooling was the best decision that could've been made for my education.  When I started kindergarten 13-years ago, I was despondent that I wasn't going to "real school".  Who could've known that this was the realest life school I could have ever gotten.

with liberty and justice for all in a biased court system

  Edit: Once again, this is a mobile post. So excuse any formatting. 

  I've said this before, but I'm not a feminist. I'm an egalitarian. Feminism is not "equality for the sexes", as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie would claim. Perhaps in a far off society, where women are being burned alive and female genital mutilation is still an issue, feminism is a well-needed cry, however, in the Western world, girls are equal to boys. Yep, I said it.  Both genders face issues and both genders have it rough in different aspects. For the purpose of this post, however, I want to focus on a specific aspect of the slight inequalities between the sexes; the American judicial system.

  It's no secret that men are treated harsher by the court system. In the UK, judges are told to treat women with more mercy than men, as they may have faced more disadvantages.
  An example of this, in January of 2014, an 18-year old female and her boyfriend ran over and killed two children.  The mother of the children forgave the driver - Cinthya Garcia-Cisneros - but her boyfriend was charged for hindering prosecution after he washed the vehicle.

  Even worse, if a man is committed, odds are that he will have a 63% longer sentence than his female counterpart.

  When it comes to the death penalty (which I generally oppose), four countries do not allow the death penalty to be applied to women.  If the crime committed is against a woman, the perpetrator is seven times more likely to receive the death penalty.   One of the biggest factors in this is that women are the presumed caretaker for any children, and family courts seem to agree.

  Don't like your husband?  Claim he's manipulative or abusive - custody win!  Frankly, a common belief seems to be that the mother is the best parent for the job.

  94% of male and 84% of female attorneys claim that judges are at least partially biased towards the mother. 

  Want to embrace gender role reversal and be a stay at home dad?  Beware. The courts don't care.  With the rise of feminism, courts are shifting, but not fast enough. 

Heck, the California courts system even admits that fathers are sometimes given a raw deal. Which isn't surprising, given that 82.2% of custodial parents are mothers.  The mother almost always gets custody. 

   Of course, males are typically discouraged from seeking custody. Out of the ones whom actively fight for custody, 70% receive some type of contact with the child.

  However, in general, males are discriminated against in the judicial system. For such a patriarchal society, men have the lesser hand here.

  That's not to say that I don't believe in justice where justice is due. If you're a male and you commit a crime, do I believe that you should be convicted?  Absolutely. If you're a crappy dad and you're denied custody, you shouldn't be a part of that child's life. I'm just tired of seeing good men victimized by women claiming victimization. Truthfully, we live in an imperfect world and a broken society. There will always be gender issues. Boys are better at math and girls are better at reading, it's a fact that everyone knows.  Yet, maybe one day, boys can help girls learn their algebra and girls can help boys master their ABCs and maybe, just maybe, our broken society will heal, even if just a little bit.