I never gave U.S. history much thought – a first generation American Ukrainian, my grandparents and their offspring made a point of emphasizing the Soviet Union’s and Russia’s side of history. My adolescent life was dominated by first-hand accounts of memories of communism/socialism, the Great Depression, WW1 and WW2 terrors and the aftermaths’ deprivations ranging from remembered facts, their schooling, and a litany of desired truths, fabrications, and nationalistic tales. America’s stories paled in any comparison, said the countless immigrants who had sacrificed everything to live here. The American presidential election and your history class made me realize I am not as interested in what influences history as I am about how it gives meaning across temporal and geographic boundaries. Politics made me aware of …show more content…
I transformed my academic efforts and made a concerted effort to read more, enrolled in a CUNY public speaking class for college credit, trained as a tutor, won a spot in the Yale Daily News Journalism class which resulted in an independent online newspaper’s offer to be a freelance European sports writer. I have you to thank for being the impetus for my becoming a completely different writer than September of junior year. My senior year I have shifted my concentration to acquiring practical experience using what I have studied to see where I would like to make positive differences in the community and yet accomplish my ultimate underlying goal of eventually becoming a philanthropist. Even if not to the degree of the Gates, I want to leave this earth, having contributed to the level of the Rockefellers, not with the legacy of a Steve Jobs. My college education will be used to continue my unpredictable personal life, which I am just beginning to plot. I promise my existence will conclude with my continually striving to make the world a better
Ronald Takaki, in his book, “A Different Mirror,” tackles the traditional narrative of American History. His concern lies in the diversified structure and inclusion of parts of their world, and their relation with daily interaction between people. The problem lies, however, in that the structure of American History, is heavily dependent on a Eurocentric idea of conquering the weak. With Takaki’s narrative experience, from the beginning of Chapter 1, he reveals how through history education, ordinary Americans, generally, are subsequently narrow minded and are ill prepared to adjust to the change in demographics throughout next decades, and thereof.
The basic mission of high school American history courses is to prepare students to do their jobs as Americans, but that mission has always been overshadowed by its “nationalistic genesis” (xvii) as a part of a “nationalist flag-waving campaign”(xvii). This causes history to be taught in a way to comfort European descendants so that whites are presented in the best light even if that means leaving out information or telling lies and “we cannot afford another generation of white Americans raised on complacent celebratory Eurocentric history”
When discussing WWII and The Cold War from an American perspective, the focus is likely to be centered on the wartime efforts of the country while debating strengths and shortcomings within those efforts. However, while the physical and psychological wars waged on, America’s homefront saw a continuation of fighting in the form of social movements aimed at attaining equality for all Americans. Minorities like African Americans and Mexican immigrants continued to face discrimination and racism during WWII but were shaped in different ways by the war. The Cold War era in America is a very complex subject marked by heightened tensions, fear, and paranoia among citizens. Much in the same way that WWII shaped the plight of minorities and immigrants on the homefront, the Cold War era also effected what it meant to be an American by shaping the conformist social class. Reaction to this conformity would also be shaped by the Cold War era, and Americans would eventually become critical to these effects.
It is extremely important for everyone to give back to their communities and I hope I can inspire others to continue their own dreams of being successful. When I become a family physician, I will be able to help many different people and advise them on how to live a healthy life. As one of Jordan’s valedictorians this year, I know how important school is and have always worked diligently to get to where I am today. I am determined and will always continue to push myself to achieve my goals. I never give up and am able to learn from my failures in order to grow and succeed. I have always loved helping others and know that I will continue striving to provide the best care possible wherever I work. I will continue working tirelessly when I am at CSU Long Beach because I know college will be more challenging than high school, but I will not let that stop me from being successful. I am going to try my best to graduate with honors because I know I have the potential in me to accomplish that goal. Family is extremely important to me and I do hope to someday get married and have a family of my own, but I know that can wait until after I accomplish my career
As my high school career ends, I notice increasingly how much life that I have yet to live and the opportunities available to me in the years ahead. The past four years have been great preparation for my future endeavors, but college is the path leading to my full potential. In order to reach the end of this path, I utilize my most valuable trait—determination—to set short and long-term goals and achieve them. It is with this “can do” spirit—like the one my grandpa, a former Navy Seabee, evinces through his stories—that I have set my personal goals: to volunteer my time in service to others, further develop leadership skills through experiential learning, and excel at my school work no matter how challenging it may seem. Though these may
Lastly, I plan to obtain my associate's degree for my third life goal. The target date for this purpose is Dec 15, 2018. This goal is vital to me, with my degree I'll be able to apply for jobs within my career field. My degree also has the potential to increase my finances as well as developing my reasoning and communication skills. Equally important I will become the first of my grandmother's six grandchildren to complete this level of my
Teachers tend to skim over the end of textbooks, which contain more recent events, maybe because there is not enough time in the year to finish teaching the entire book, but also teacher tend to just touch on these subjects because they can be controversial especially if it happened in or around their lifetime. Surveying the books, it shows that more recent decades in our textbooks contain less than half the amount of pages than a chapter taking place in the 1930’s; however, it is possible that these chapters are shorter because there has been less time spent studying current events. Studying more recent events in classrooms seems like a good topic for discussion considering the students and teachers could understand different opinions about a topic they or someone they know have lived through, hopefully giving a better understanding. Not going into more detail about current events leaves us continuing to
The past two semesters were great experiences. Within this past school year my knowledge as a reader and writer has improved. It felt like it was just yesterday, when I had a lot of difficulty writing and poor reading strategies. Now, as I said before, I am an improved writer and reader. The assignments and class activities over the two semesters were great benefits to me, and helped me make progress towards the first year learning goals.
After taking Honors Written and Oral Communication freshman year I have changed as a communicator. I have grown in many areas as a writer and speaker; however, I have also have skills that need improvement. From the Fahrenheit 451 essay to the six-word memoir, my writing capabilities and experience has changed. I have sincerely grown in certain areas whereas I have also fell short in other areas.
When I started English 203, I was not a good writer. I have never been the best writer. I could not remember all of the rules, where commas go, and how to correctly use a semi-colon. I did not remember not to use the word you in professional writing or whether the period went before or after quotation marks. But, I think this semester in English I have actually started to pick up the correct way to use quotations, commas, how to avoid contractions, and how to avoid banned words. It took some time but, I feel like I have learned more in the past 16 weeks of English than I have in the past 14 years of school. One of the most valuable writing skills I learned was how to write a review on an article and not
A lot of people share common misconceptions about window tinting, and some of the things you believe about it might be just a myth. To shed light on them, this article will discuss the common fallacies surrounding window tinting and unveil the truth.
Throughout most of human history, humans have had a tendency to judge people on the basis of clearly defined qualities, in an attempt to characterize and classify society into more easily understood “black and white” groups. In Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner, the characters, representative of the surrounding cultures portrayed, frequently participate in acts of inclusion and exclusion on the basis of ethnicity, religion, and lifestyle as a means of dividing the population into clearly defined, mutually exclusive groups. This underlying expression of discrimination serves as a modern critical analysis against society’s prevalent tenets of inequality.
Infant mortality is and has been an issue for a very long time. It can be defined as the rate of deaths that happen before a child’s first birthday (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2013). A consequence of infant mortality is the mental health of the family that must deal with the death of a child; when one loses a child very early it can be difficult to cope with and the parents might develop depression. There are several risk factors for infant mortality, including congenital abnormalities, being born preterm, having a low birth weight, and lower socioeconomic status of the child’s family. Furthermore, a problem such as this is contingent upon access to health care; third-world countries and impoverished areas might have little to no access to health care, therefore, increasing the risk of complications with a pregnancy. A mother must have prenatal care to support good health for the baby.
Now that I have completed the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth course Crafting the Essay, I feel I have tremendously grown as a writer. Even after submitting the first assignment, I looked back at a position paper I wrote for school that I received an A+ on, yet I saw several flaws I wished I had changed.
I will shortly be receiving my Bachelor's Degree in Multidisciplinary Studies with a concentration on business. I will soon leave the world of studies and enter what is commonly referred to as "the real world." While this thought is someone frightening, especially given the current economic situation the nation faces, it is also exciting as well. I believe that crossing this threshold will change the way I view my role in the community, as well as the impact I will have on the community when I graduate. No longer will I see myself as a "child" in society, taking what society has to offer but never thinking of giving back. Instead, I am soon to become a fully fledged member of the community, with responsibilities to the community as a whole.