Senior Reflection #4

My senior reflection number four will be about graduation.

I can't believe it is over, and next week i will be graduation from high school. It is a really important thing for me, because it is not as easy when you come from a foreign country to graduate from high school given that it is really hard to get credits and finish on time because of ESOL programs...

anyways.. my computer just shut down and I had this draft so i will continue although i don't remember what i had written before.

alright.. as i said before i'm kind of proud of myself because of what I've achieved, which can be seen as something common for some other people, but trust me, if you are for a foreign country it takes you down like 4 steps, and you end up losing more time trying to graduate than you have ever thought.

So, yes I am happy, and i want to graduate really badly.

:)

CE #4

The article I just read is called Fairfax's Kenston Yi, retired Army officer, charged in wife, daughter's deaths it was written by Tom Jackman. This article talks about retired Army Officer who was working for the National Guard Bureau in Arlington in the technology field.

Kenston Yi strangulated his wife and daughter and he told a minister at Fort Belvoir. He was held in jail but later on he was taken to the hospital after demonstrating suicidal thoughts; he had taken Ambien to hurt himself based on what he said to the doctor. Police went to his apartment and found the bodies of his wife and daughter with trauma signs. Police is trying to come up with the exact charges based on the cause of dead of both his wife and daughter.

I’ve chosen this article because I think it is really interesting. I always get into articles about crime. I read this one and I felt really sad about what had happened, but at the same time, it happened just in the same county I live in, so I thought, why people always live so out of what’s going on around us.

The article was well written, a lot of details and quotations about what the assassin said and also it was told chronologically so it was easier to read and interpret.

Senior Reflection

My senior reflection for this week will be about what i want to do next year.

Next year I would like to start College and start a new life.

I am planning on going back to my country and start from scratch over there.

I would like to start studying something i like, and i feel comfortable about.

My goals are get in College to study International Relations. Hopefully within four years I'll be done with my Bachelors and two years later I'll have my PhD.

So, let's see how it goes.

CE #3

The Article I Have read this week for the Current Event number 3 is called Traffic stop video on YouTube sparks debate on police use of Md. wiretap laws it was written by Annys Shin. This article talks about Antony Grabber’s case. He spent 26 hours in jail because he had recorded a state trooper while he was giving him a ticket for doing 80 in a 65 mph zone.

The debate of his case is between people who think why should be recording a Police Officer in a public an illegal action? Why if they are supposed to act in public so everyone can see and hear what they say. On the other side, there are states that have established recording a State Trooper illegal.

I’ve chosen this article because it seemed important and interesting to me. Given that it is something that I don’t agree with. I don’t think recording a police officer should be illegal. They always say what they want and judges don’t even ask if that person is saying the truth, of course they are taught to do so, I don’t know how honest they could be when establishing their statements in court. After all, no one likes to lose.

It was well written. And It was also easy to read. It was written chronologically also.

Senior Reflection #2

My Senior Reflection for this week is about my plans in the summer. So far, I want to be done with school and be able to get better job so I can save up some money to pay my College. Also, I want to have some fun, since Summer is the best season ever. My goals are extremely clear by now, I already decided what I want to do with my life and hopefully I am only a few months away to start giving shape to my dreams.

CE #2

The article I just read is called Fairfax approves $2.2B school budget that cuts jobs, adds fees, by Michael Alison Chandler. It explains what the school budget will be for next year, and how they are planning to get some money while making some changes in school programs.

This formula is called “Priority Schools Initiative”, which will enlarge the school day or year. Some of the changes imposed by school superintendent Jack Dale are fees that will be charged to students who play sports or take AP classes, and also the program cuts around 200 positions.

There are some schools that already got benefits from this program and have shown good results, like the one in Alexandria that just had developed an outdoor classroom with 14,000 square feet of gardens which make them won a U.S. Department of Agriculture award due to funds based on this new program.

I’ve chosen this article because it seemed important to me, given that it is something local and something that I live with. Even though this is my last year in high school; I do have younger relatives who go to Fairfax’s schools and they will see the consequences much closer.

It is well written, very clear and understandable. I enjoyed reading the article, and hopefully the results will make the county earn more money and the governors and superintendents will be able to manage it.

Senior Reflection

Senior Reflection

My first senior reflection will be about all what happened this year.

For me it’s been a really unusual year; given that I dropped out some classes so I could work. I got switched from different classes more than once, so I could get to go to school and work at the same time. Also, I will say I experienced what senioritis means; given that this one has been the school year when I skipped school the most.

My Senior Year has been a good year for me so far, however it was not the best one.

CE #1

The article I just read is called “China increases holding of US treasury bonds” written by Martin Crutsinger. It talks about how China has held US Treasury debt for the first time in six months; as a consequence United States will be force to pay higher rates so they can finance the debt. The reason why the increase was produced is because of the crisis in Europe, where International Monetary Fund assembled nearly 1 trillion support package to convince investors.

The reason why I chose this article is because I found it really interesting, given that is talking about the financial situation of United States, hence it is talking about huge amounts of money. It was well written, very neat and understandable.

I enjoyed reading the article, but at the same time it got me a little worry about our economy.

Editorial #6

The article I read this week is called In D.C., public defenders aren’t where the system falls short” by Jim Arkedis.

He relates the story of Tim Cofied, a young who has fallen in drugs and alcohol. Basically what he points out is how the society should help these people instead of send him to jail.

He applauds Eric Holder’s focus on public defense, given that he was the responsible for taking Tim out of jail and put him into rehab programs to help him out with his addictions.

The author is trying to convince people to take care and give the importance needed and pay more attention to post-release rehabilitation and counseling so young people don’t make the same mistake twice.

Editorial #5

The article that I read this week is called Milloy: “Hubble 3D” movie illustrates how far math can take kids by Courtland Milloy. Basically the author is giving the reader his own point of view about a documentary that he saw at the National Air and Space Museum which changed his view about math, and also gave him a little of more knowledge about the methods used in math in schools during these days. He compares his story and struggles with math while he was a boy. He also interviewed Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium in New York, and he explains to him how he got into math and how his parents supported his dream related with the space.

Clearly, Milloy persuades the reader on math. Even though, he tells how hard and what a tough time he had back when he was a teenager, he argues how easy and different is for people to learn math and have the sky as a limit when you get the right instructions.

Editorial #4

The article is named Most Americans want health reform, written by Joel Benenson. The author gives a brief description of the health care reform, and also goes over polls and people's opinion about this reform. By reading the article we clearly can say that the author is supporting Obama's health care reform, and not agreeing with Republicans ideologies. One clear example to support my statement is the sentence used by Benenson at the end of his Article "But there is every reason to believe that for Republicans, the negative consequences will be their own."

Editorial #3

The name of this article is States can limit corporate and union spending on elections by Bryan Frosh and Jamie Raskin. They talk mainly about Citizens United Vs Federal Election Commissions. disagreeing on how rich people get to spend large amount of money to elect or defeat candidates and also going trough how mega-corporations will become a political juggernaut; the authors clearly support the Citizens United rather than the Federal Election Commissions.Given that the Citizens United will give to our economy the tilt it needs to balance democracy.

Editorial #2

Homeless D.C. Teenagers visit White House

By Petula Dvorak

In this article, Petula relates how teenagers who live in shelters felt when they went to the White House. She narrates how impressed they were, how they imagined it. And, even though they live in the D.C. area some of them have never known the White House.

As a personal opinion she says she did not agree with the fact of taking them there to see what they’ve never have characterizing it as cruel, but immediately she reverts saying that it turned out to be an uplifting day.

Editorial #1

Both parties fall prey to make-believe politics

By Robert J. Samuelson

This columnist talks about the two parties and how they can spend more money than they collect in taxes during the next couple of years. The author explains in detail how the parties are trying to make their ideas work. Although, he emphases his disagreement with the Democratic Congress. As the author said the result is a paradox.

Current Event #7

My personal week entry for this last second quarter post will be about Haiti.

What had happened is horrible, thousands of people have died.

It turns even worse when we realize that the country where this catastrophic event happened is the poorest country in the western hemisphere.

In my opinion, i think USA is doing a good job by sending people to Haiti to help them out, unfortunately there's not even resources and more people are dying every minute. As a rich and developed country, i think US must show kindness. Some people can think that this is not fair, because they are having a tough time with the recession, but hopefully the ones who have the final answer don't think like them, and they are sending people to help this poor country out.

Cartoon #6

1- Nata Beeler

2- Published on The Washington Examiner. 1/15/2010.

3-The cartoon deals with the issues that our government have to take care of such as stimulus, health care, taxes.

4-The message of this cartoon is Obama saying to Wall St to stop their planes about these issues, so his government can actually take care of it. The message is pointing how bad wall street takes care of it, but at the same time, Obama's plans seems as bad as the wall st ones.

5-I don't agree with the message, but at the same time, i won't say that i agree, since i don't really know how Obama's plans will work out. I agree with a change, but i don't know if the choices that we have are the best ones.

Curren Event #7

Some things that I think would come up in this new year in Obama’s administration are the war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the one already done Health Care reform, some immigration laws, and some plan to help our economy to get better than it is now.

I think we are pretty much headed in the right direction, it would be better if resolutions don’t take too long as they are use to.

In my personal point of view I don’t think the economic downturn is over. America is a big country and its population is even bigger hence I don’t think this problem is totally fixed, maybe the economy right now it better than it was a year ago, but still there are a lot of things that our government needs to work on.

The administration in wars just make our economy worse than it was before, since a lot of money goes to these wars instead of going to things than would improve our economy.

The issue that I would relate to the presidential administration is the health care reform, even though some people think it would be worse for our economy, since everyone will get insurance even though they can not afford it, I think this is a good reform since every one will get insurance, also I think it would work if and only if our government knows how to administer it.

Cartoon #5

1-Jimmy Marqulies

2-The Record of Hackensack, NJ - Posted 1/7/2010

3- The cartoon deals with the Health care reform.

4-The cartoon points out how good it would be for people who don’t have insurance but at the same time, it reveals how disadvantaged it would be for people who already have insurance.

5- I don’t agree with the message. The reason why I say this is because I don’t think that’s the way it would work. As Obama said before in one of his speeches he explained how people who already have insurance won’t be prejudiced by people who don’t have it. I think this reform will help millions of people who don’t have insurance, in my personal opinion I think it would work.