You should really know about...
One way to prepare for the argument prompt of the AP Language and Composition exam and to improve your ability to synthesize information across contexts is to refine and explain the background information that you know and understand.
Tonight, choose a person, event or text that you know a lot about and describe it to us using your most sophisticated and engaging writing voice. For example, you might tell us about a television series that makes you think about the world in a new way, a current event that sparked your interest, a sports figure who inspires you, or a court case that gave you new perspective on the nature of democracy.
Requirements:
Tonight, choose a person, event or text that you know a lot about and describe it to us using your most sophisticated and engaging writing voice. For example, you might tell us about a television series that makes you think about the world in a new way, a current event that sparked your interest, a sports figure who inspires you, or a court case that gave you new perspective on the nature of democracy.
Requirements:
- 250-300 words
- Summary that captures the most significant aspects of the event/text/person
- Discussion of significance in our society or for you personally
- Why you recommend that your classmates learn more about this topic/person/text
Every one in basketball knows his name, and nearly every one in the nation knows he is the goat (greatest of all time). Michael Jordan won 6 championships in his NBA career, three-peating twice. However, he was not always unstoppable, in fact, before he won his first championship he lost countless times in the playoffs. Even before this, though, he was cut from his high school basketball team. These losses and failures only made him want to be more successful and win even more in the coming years. Jordan had to overcome a lot of adversity in order to, not only win, but win three times in a row, twice. His story of losing countless times, and struggling and working to be the best; and then eventually becoming the best, is a perfect demonstration for everyone's life. Everyone should know his story because it can help them know that even the greatest have to start from somewhere.
ReplyDeleteOne book that has stood out to me in particular is Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The books follows the story of a band of boys aged 7-12 stuck on a deserted island after a plane crash. In the beginning of the book the boys are cheerful, they play in the sand and on the beaches, they also eat fruits off of the trees. However as the story progresses there is a power struggle, which is when the protagonist Ralph takes command as the chief. Although he was voting into this position not all boys wanted him to be the chief. Which is where the antagonist Jack comes into play. As the story progresses the struggle for power becomes immense and finally Jack leaves to form his own tribe. The tone of the book becomes gradually darker and darker, the innocent little boys are beginning their transition into savages. The actions the boys are taking to ensure survival are being cruel and they even end up murdering one of their own. This book is significant because it provides a dark overview on human nature, many believe that as humans we all strive to be morally good. Yet, Lord of the Flies demonstrates that this is not the case. Although these dark themes may be a bit of an exaggeration, William Golding’s view on the world do not stray so far from the truth, especially nowadays as the conflict in the middle east emphasizes how cruel humans really can be. Although most of my peers read this book freshman year, I would recommend reading it again as we have grown as readers and can know fully grasp the ideas and concepts within the book.
ReplyDeleteA book I read while back that was highly engaging to me was Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. The book describes how we think in two different systems, one of which is our intuition and one which is slower thinking. The book emphasizes that although it requires hard work, we must try and think at a slower pace because our intuition will force us to jump to falseful conclusions. This is significant because it made me realize that we should all check our work if we have the time. In addition, it made me consider that slowing down our thinking could provide us with benefits such as more logical decision making. Another thing the book highlights is that as humans, we tend to underestimate or overestimate the probability of events happening based on what is going on in our lives. For example, if three people in one’s life just had heart surgery, one will drastically overestimate the odds of themselves getting a heart problem. On the other end, if nobody in someone’s life has the flu, one will underestimate the chances that they will get the flu. Although this may seem trivial, it is in fact crucial in today’s terms of people being influenced by biases. In society we should all try to take the necessary steps to minimizing biases although it may be incredibly challenging. I recommend this book to anybody wanting to learn about how our brains are naturally wired to think. Furthermore, this book speaks on an array of other compelling topics that will help one better understand themselves personally as well as how people around them make certain decisions.
ReplyDeleteNikki Kaz
ReplyDeleteThe construction of the constitution (History)
The constitution is an imperfect document with many flaws. The document reflected a huge blind spot in our society and changes must be made. The document was meant to be a revolutionary document that helped create a better union but the underlying message in it proves that it was not revolutionary because there was just little change when you look at everything the country has been through. When the framers wrote the Constitution they did not think about how it would affect the future. Before the Constitution the Articles of Confederation were created in 1777. This was a document that instituted the factors of a government. Within this document there was a unicameral legislature. The single chamber legislature meant that there was no separation of powers. Congress did not have the power to regulate the commerce between different countries. In 1786-1787 there were many protests towards the taxes. The farmers in Massachusetts had high taxes that they couldn’t afford. This caused the farmers not being able to afford their land which caused the government to confiscate the land from them. The farmers wanted to march to Boston and burn it to the ground. Their mission was to shut down the court in anyway possible. If the court was shut down then the farmers couldn’t go to jail for being in debt. This uprising was called Shays’ Rebellion. This rebellion prompted the construction of the constitution because it made people realize that certain aspects of the government had to be changed.
The preposterous comments spewed out relentlessly from talk show host and entertainer Steve Harvey are just one occurrence representing the discrimination the Asian community receives throughout America, and presents a true view on the lack of motivation our social justice figures have to change it. The televised interview viewed by millions in which Harvey voiced his disgust with Asian culture and perplexed views on how people could possibly "find Asian men attractive", followed by how his personal tastes lay only with foods he can "pronounce", Chinese food not fitting those tastes, was enough to sprawl a minor debate on the toxicity of his racist comments. Minor, however, is the key word. While these malicious comments were covered by various news outlets, one could ask any colleague if they'd seen or heard about Harvey's racist remarks and the amount of "No"'s they'd receive would be astounding. This was only one media brushed over occurrence of discrimination the Asian community publicly received. On April 11th, 2017, United Airlines flight 01:13 called upon security and other personal to remove an Asian man from a seat of which he had paid for in advance, and had already packed away his luggage and prepared for a flight. This man was punched, unbuckled, and dragged off the plane. This situation was not isolated, several passengers recorded videos of the brutality, one in particular screaming "Look what you've done to him! Stop!" As he was being dragged down the isle by his arms across the floor like a rag doll. One might hear about this situation and think "It must have been necessary, he must have done something wrong." but this man was only sitting in his seat and asked to move once, before he was assaulted and dragged off the plane. Various news outlets including CNN and The New York Times covered this event, but soon, the attention regarding this instance died down. Among the coverage, several twitter jokes on the passenger demanding compensation, from "yeah man! get those coins!" to an online makeup tutorial to look like the "glamorous victim" from flight 01:13, a traumatic experience seemed to tap-tap on White Americas funny bone. This is the extent to which discrimination is delivered throughout America. A spine tingling encounter can be quick to turn into the highlight of someones twitter account. The normalization of these discriminatory actions towards communities of color is the reason that racism towards minority groups still exist. If society collectively refuses to pay serious attention to disgustingly horrifying events, or just plain ignorantly directed remarks, there is no doubt that we will meet the inmost point of societal dissever.
ReplyDeleteCountless studies have revealed qualities about humans that may not have always been apparent. In the Stanford Prison Experiment (1971), Philip Zimbardo conducted an experiment where 10 people that were chosen randomly were given the role of prisoners and 10 people were given the role of guards. The roles were assigned by a flip of a coin, making everything done randomly. A fake prison was set up and every person was given an outfit that reflected their status. Prisoners were given night gowns and were only addressed by their identification numbers. In addition, guards were given sunglasses (to avoid eye contact) and bats even though they could not physically harm the prisoners. As the experiment started, it was clear that the guards already took advantage of their power by forcing the prisoners to do arbitrary tasks such as push ups and jumping jacks in the middle of the night. Later on, they even denied a prisoner food for not cooperating with them. Although the study was supposed to last two weeks, it only lasted six days because of the disrespect the prisoners were receiving. When analyzing this experiment, it is clear that when people are given a high status, it is easy for them to oppress those who are under them as demonstrated through the relationship between the prisoners and the guards. By making prisoners do arbitrary tasks just because the guards felt like it reveals that they no longer cared about what is right and wrong due to the situation they were in. It is important to consider studies like the Stanford Prison Experiment because they reveal that people have the ability to act in certain ways that aren't clear in everyday life. However, what they are capable of in specific situations can be shocking.
ReplyDeletecurrent events
ReplyDeleteNew York City, this past week had passed a tuition-free program that helps many students and families who make under $100,000 a year. However, many people can argue that this plan has many holes and flaws. There are limitations however to this plan such as having to stay and work in New York for 4 years after graduating college. This puts limitations on students to find work and to live a better life if they are restricted to live in the city for the next 4 years. Another restriction that is placed in this program is that this ‘free tuition’ only applies to students who have graduated high school and are going to a 4 year college right after their graduation. The question is however, is the ‘free tuition’ program really worth these limitations? Over the years, colleges have heavily increased their tuition rates that many families can’t afford, this program benefits many struggling families or families that simply can’t afford $53,000 a year college tuition. Although this free tuition program doesn’t benefit every New York student, this program will greatly benefit many students who desires to go to any private or public expensive school that can’t afford.
Chance The Rapper's "All Night"
ReplyDeleteLyrical Notes:
One thing that immediately stands out is the abundant use of repetition, including anaphora in many of the lines. The song is fun and the lyrics effortlessly roll off the tongue. The entire chorus is the line “All night, I been drinking all night,” repeated over and over, making for a great, almost chant-like jam session to a catchy tune. By using repetition throughout the verses as well, Chance illustrates vivid images of his experiences as an upcoming celebrity, while simultaneously expressing his emotions towards the situation. For example, “Last girl, she’ll lie on the seat, she’ll fart on the seat,” (verse 2). This song ultimately is addicting because of the excessive and sometimes humorous but necessary repetition. The title “All Night” makes sense for the meaning of the song because it expresses the constant, tiring nature of Chance’s having to deal with fans when trying to live his daily life.
Opinion of the song and message:
This is a song that will get me in a goofy and fun mood no matter what I may be feeling. This song makes me smiley even though it doesn’t preach something universally experienced. The song is from a very interesting perspective that tells an authentic story that is usually intentionally covered up to protect a celebrity’s image. In a humorous and fun way Chance touches upon his experience as a new up-and-coming popular artist when going out to party like he normally would. He surprises his audience, certainly myself, with unexpected blunt words/phrases and entertaining ways of manipulating his voice. A musician’s goal is to make their own music someone else’s go-to music, and this song has been on replay on my playlist for the last few days and I highly doubt that repeat button will be un-clicked. I’m hooked and there is no use in denying it.
Gun control and Orlando:
ReplyDeleteThe horrific show of hate in Orlando, Florida is more than what has become regularized American gun violence; it is also a dwindling safety for LGBT Americans. Incredible strides have been made in LGBT rights - having resolute allies like President Obama and Hillary Clinton, many LGBT friendly classrooms and legalized gay marriage. But it's not enough, when I still hardly see a gay character on television that is not a white male or pivoted by feminine stereotypes. Unclear as it is on why such a horrible thing should happen, the shooter Omar Mateen was clearly driven by hate, a hate that unfortunately still resides in some states, leaving many LGBT people to feel as though they are second-class citizens for basic expression. It has been a month and some weeks since the shooting at Pulse nightclub and I have heard little about it, the way I did when it just happened. This is a recurring theme I see in American gun tragedies - that we are sorry for a few months and making promises until, little by little, conversation dies down. I don't really hear anyone talk about Sandy Hook anymore. It's the unfortunate state of this country that so many of this harmful events are seen as a way to promote political gain and not to better its citizens. Laxness on gun control has left America nearly a war zone, one that is continually being ignored. And now those same empty promises are being made to the LGBT community - promises that taste saccharine but are actually dusty when I cannot bring up sexuality without all eyes warily on me.
ReplyDeleteEvery couple of years, there comes a movie that leaves audiences awestruck. Casablanca, Star Wars, The Goonies: these movies have made cinematic history. It seems that these classics have one thing in common, characters we fall in love with. Even greater than these award- winners, is one movie, Dirty Dancing. In this 1987 production, Baby (Jennifer Grey), spends her Summer at a boring resort in the Catskills with her parents and her sister Lisa (Jane Brucker). Baby soon grows tired of wasting her days by the lake, playing Charades and taking soulless dance lessons from a staff of specifically hired silver spoon kids, who are there to make the wealthier guests “happy”. However, things finally turn around when Baby stumbles upon Johnny (Patrick Swayze), a rugged staff member at the resort whose dance partner has become ill. Baby quickly volunteers herself for the job, eager to spend her days doing something useful. Although Baby has never had a dance lesson in her life, Johnny agrees to try and teach her. As they fill hours upon hours every day together, it becomes increasingly apparent to Baby that Johnny is very much unlike her own father. Johnny grew up poor without a prestigious education, or a trust fund. In turn, Johnny appears to be annoyed with Baby, who is far too sheltered for his liking. Despite their extreme differences, Johnny and Baby learn to be comfortable around one another as dance partners. The pair quickly fall in love with one another, although Baby’s father misjudges Johnny by his rough appearance, and forbids her from seeing him. For once in her life, Baby stands up for herself through refusing to leave Johnny’s side. Baby’s acceptance of Johnny when everyone else refused to see him as anything but a Pool Boy, helps him to build his confidence. Indeed, he learns for the first time in his life that he is valuable. At the same time, Baby learns that love is not determined by fortune, or by who your family is. Ultimately, anyone who watches Dirty Dancing will benefit in understanding the ways that love expands who we are as people.
2013 saw the beginning of a record long winning streak for American gymnast Simone Biles. Since her all-around win at the 2013 world championships in Antwerp, she continued on to win two more gold medals in the All around at world championships in 2014 and 2015 in Nanning and Glasgow respectively. Most recently she became a household name in the US after winning four gold medals and one bronze at the 2016 Rio olympics. She helped to lead her team to a gold medal and won the all around, vault, and floor titles, taking third on balance beam. She is now considered the greatest female gymnast of all time and is known for her incredible amount of power all packed into her four foot, eight inch frame. However Simone’s road to Rio wasn’t without its hardships. Gymnastics itself is a incredibly precise, mentally and physically tolling, and frustrating sport and as she fought her way through conditioning and drills she dealt with difficulty at home. She was born to parents who were struggling with alcohol addictions and other personal issues. As a result of this she was placed in foster care with her siblings. After fighting through a time in foster care their maternal grandparents took them in and raised them as their own. From there she became a gymnast, starting later than most future olympic gymnasts do. Simone Biles rose from great adversity to become the best in her field, as such hardship pushed her to work harder and become stronger everyday until she had achieved all her goals that at one point may have seemed impossible.
ReplyDeleteGood Will Hunting, Starring Matt Damon, revolves around the life of a troubled teen, Will (Damon) who happens to be a genius, but has never gotten the opportunity to reveal his gift. In the film, he is seen casually solving some of the hardest math problems MIT has to offer. We see Will grow up along side his child hood friends, who he considers his brothers. He works as a janitor at MIT, living on the lower end of the ladder, not really looking for a way to the top. It's a beautiful movie about the affect ones past can have on their future. Will suffers from an abusive past, causing him not to let himself get too attached to anyone or open himself up to anyone. He meets a girl, Skylar, and falls in love with her.. but then he gets scared and tells her that he doesn't love her. Will meets with a therapist, played by Robin Williams, and it takes multiple sessions until Will finally starts to open up. In the end, Will leaves his hometown (Boston) to pursue Skylar, as she moves to California.
ReplyDeleteWhat I love about the movie is the way the characters seem to have a real relationship. The connections and love seems so genuine and real, and you can see that by the way they interact. I would recommend this film because it encourages people to not limit themselves, pursue what they really want, and pursue love.
One movie that I would recommend writing about on the Ap exam is Divergent. This was a popular movie and has many themes that goes with it. In the movie, the state or the leaders want to do a test on everyone’s reaction time and strengths. During the test, the people falls asleep and was put into multiple dreams. In the dreams, they experience things that may happen in real life or things like being in a container filled with water or being in the the fire. To wake up from the test, the person taking it have to successfully free themselves in those occasions. Beatrice Prior -the main character (girl)- and a few others found out that the test did not work on them because of their fast reaction time. In other words, they were the ones that the state do not want because they fear that those people would overthrow the government because of their smartness. That is when they realized that they were being lied on and everyone else is in dangerous because the government want to physically control them to do bad things. They then decided to rebel and turn the controlling system down and later succeeded. Basically, this is significant because it encourages people to think creatively. It also have the lessons: disobedient is not always bad and also about how even though the likelihood of something happening is really small, people should put in all their effort. This movie also encouraged me to think differently: don’t always follow the rules because they are rules but because they are the right things to do. I recommend this movie because it is a good movie to watch, it has many themes, and the themes connects to a lot of the AP exam prompts.
ReplyDelete13 Reasons Why is arguably one of the most controversial topics of discussion in 2017 so far. The Novel-Turned-TV-Series centers around Clay Jenkins, a high school junior who is given a case of thirteen tapes by Hannah Baker, a fellow student who committed suicide and left the tapes, each one blaming a person for her death. While the novels release in 2011 caused it's own level of controversy, the tv series has gotten more heat. Critics claim the show romanticizes suicide, and that it its triggering depictions of self harm and sexual assault are too graphic. The show does show Hannah's peers demonstrating remorse and regret over her death, but asserting that that is "romanticizing" her suicide is absurd. The characters reactions towards Hannah's death only show that the people around you are affected by you, one way or another. If anything, it should tell the audience that they are cared about, and people would notice if they weren't there anymore. It is important to note, though, that the show is a very triggering one. Survivors of sexual assault or people with suicidal tendencies should steer clear of the show and the book. However, the show is an important one to watch. While the belief that the way you treat people matters seems like common sense to some, it isn't to others. Yes, it is true that people shouldn't need to watch a show in order to understand that cruelty isn't okay, but isn't it a good thing that people who didn't comprehend that do so after watching it?
ReplyDeleteThere is no doubt that k-pop is becoming an international success. Many look down on it since there is a language barrier and huge cultural difference, but Korean idols shouldn’t be ignored they are as talented if not so more talented than American artists. Before debuting Korean idols are trained 2-6 years to make a well-rounded group with talents by a company. Most groups debut at the age average age of 18 and are able to sing, dance, rap, entertain, act, play instruments, and speak more than one language. One of the most popular k-pop groups is called BTS (Bangtan Boys) who consist of seven members (Jin, Suga, Jimin, J-Hope, Rap Mon, V, and Jungkook). BTS debuted in 2013 with songs about the social pressure and troubles of young adults through hip-hop. Catching the attention of many young adults that were able to relate to their songs they started growing in fame big enough to be noticed be America. In 2017, BTS entered the 9th Annual Shorty Awards winning the Best in Music Award against Chance the Rapper, Ariana Grande, Solange, Tegan & Sara, and Ingrid Michaelson. They’re also currently nominees for the Billboard Music Awards’ Top Social Media Artist against Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, Ariana Grande, and Shawn Mendes. Over their past years the boys have won internationally 3 Japanese Golden Disc Awards, 2 Yin-Yue Tai Awards, and 1 MTV European Music Award. Despite the differences between non-Koreans and Koreans, there is no doubt that Korean pop will spread and it’s never too late to hop onto the wagon of a booming industry.
ReplyDeleteToday, movies and tv shows go hand in hand with our popular culture. Television is one way that people used larger platforms in order to open up topics that aren't usually talked about in the modern household. Due to tv, families are able to experience and see a difference in life through programs that show the "other side". Certain shows and movies such as 13 reasons why, cyber bully and many more open up the platform to topics such as suicide, sexual assault and sexuality. The show takes you on a journey through the aftermath of the suicide of teenager hannah baker who decides to take her own life and leave behind 13 tapes explaining the events behind her choice. In mere minutes of being released on Netflix, the show had taken in positive and negative feedback from fans of all ages and background. Suddenly, people began to talk of suicide, sexual assault and more topics that aren't often discussed over dinner. Even if you haven't watched the show, our popular culture and the use of social media, commercials and even street ads had to thinking of 13 reasons. Through the expanse of our popular culture, topics that are often clouded seemed to come to light. Yet realizing why it took a television show to talk of suicide surprised many people. Although suicide, depression and mental illness aren't openly talked about discussions, our popular culture has allowed for it to fall right into our laps not going unnoticed. Not only has popular culture made shows like this the norm, it also has created serious tensions between generations, making older ones feel uncomfortable with such talk while the younger ones see it as more of a conversation starter. It allows everyone to open up, although people think popular culture can have a negative influence on our growing society, nevertheless it allows for topics that can seem sheltered and looked over come to light and maybe saving kids who find themselves in hannah's position to seek help.
ReplyDeleteA$AP Rocky, 28 year old rapper born Rakim Mayers, came from nothing, yet he was able to turn it all around and grow to be one of the most popular rappers of this generation. He was born in Harlem and while he did move around he credits Harlem as his home. When Mayers was 12 his father went to jail for selling drugs, and later lost his father in 2012. One year after his father going to jail, Mayers brother was shot and killed in Harlem. That was a turning point in Mayer's life it caused him to focus on his rapping. He continued to rap as he went through some hard times with his family where his mother, sister and him all jumped around from shelter to shelter. During that time he turned to selling drugs and at the age of 15 he was selling crack in the Bronx. At that point Mayers was on a downward spiral but by 2011 he managed to turn it around by focusing on his rap career. A$AP Rocky has released two studio albums both of which peaked at number one on the charts. One went RIAA Platinum and the other Gold. He has two RIAA Gold singles, one RIAA platinum single, and a RIAA Multi-platinum (3x) single. He is apart of A$AP MOB, a collective of rappers that began in Harlem, and helped to grow the A$AP worldwide company. He started in the movie Dope, has worked on songs with Rihanna, Alicia Keys, Selena Gomez and more. Mayers has a Guess collaboration, has an A$AP clothing brand, has collaborated with Raf Simons, and overall made a name for himself in the fashion industry. A$AP Rocky has made his mark on the on each level of entertainment and he is only 28. Rocky went from dealing drugs and living in homeless shelters to having a $6 million net worth and accomplishing all this and more. There is no doubt there are other rappers of this generation that have done even better and been even more successful, some that faced hardships of their own. While there is more he can do and more he can achieve, Mayers has come a long way from being the 13 year old boy from harlem who had to deal drugs while his family lived in homeless shelters. Whether or not you enjoy his music, acting, fashion sense and designs, it is without a doubt that Rakim Mayers was able to turn his life around significantly and make an impact on this generation's entertainment.
ReplyDeleteArtist J. Dubose, better known by his stage name A Boogie wit da Hoodie, is an American hip hop recording artist and record producer from Highbridge, Bronx, New York City. He attended the DeWitt Clinton High School. He graduated high school from the Performance based Preparatory Academy in Fort Pierce, Florida. He grew up listening to artists like 50 Cent and Kanye West, and started writing lyrics at age of 12. He split time between New York and Florida during his teenage years, and was forced to move down to Florida after getting into too much trouble in New York. He came back to New York in 2015 and made a name for himself in 2016 with two mixtapes by the names of Artist and Highbridge the Label: The Takeover, Vol. 1. He began writing some of his first rhymes when he was just 13 years old. He recorded a first studio-made track called "Temporary" in December of 2014. Next, He was earning co-signs from rappers such as DJ Khaled and Meek Mill when his fame began to rise. He is signed to Highbridge the Label and Atlantic Records. Sometime later, A Boogie went on to have three opening dates on Drake and Future's Summer Sixteen Tour. In July 2016, A Boogie signed a deal with Atlantic Records. Later in October 2016, A Boogie released his first extended play (EP), titled TBA, in acronym for "The Bigger Artist". The EP peaked at number 63 on the US Billboard 200 chart and appeared on Rolling Stone magazine's 40 Best Rap Albums of 2016 list. He’s accomplished so much in a short amount of time and recently just became a father.
ReplyDeleteHuman trafficking is “modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (Homeland Security). Today, there are four times more slaves in the world than in the United States in 1860. Labor trafficking is forcing a person to do manual labor, both domestic and industrial, while sex trafficking is exploiting a person for profit. There are many causes of human trafficking, such as poverty, political conditions, war, and pre-existing social and cultural practices. When people are placed in situations of extreme poverty and are offered a “way out”, many will end up being trafficked. Civil unrest scatters populations, which increases their chance of being exploited via trafficking and forced labor. War creates orphans and street children which are primary victims for traffickers. The last, and final cause for trafficking is social and cultural practices. In today’s society, degrading and objectifying women is a cultural norm. This devaluation of women leads to a higher chance of being trafficked. This devaluation has been a problem in our society since the beginning of its creation.
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