Standardized testing

Standardized testing is an important factor in helping kids succeed. Standardized test like the ACTAAP and the Benchmark prepare student for more advanced tests like the SAT an ACT.
Students' scores from the earlier standardized tests allow teachers to compare their class scores with the state averages. They also show the teacher each child's capability to learn in comparison to the other students.
Standardized testing only increases a child's chance to score better on others tests and succeed later on in life.

Advertisment: Dress Irresponsibly

The ad we chose is the Pacsun "Dress Irresponsibly" ad. The ad show a young, happy girl draping her body on a bed covered in the brand's clothes. The audience appeals to teen and young people because they want to seem care-free and slightly rebellious.

The use of ethos is shown by that the girl on the ad is attractive with a slight smirk on her face like she has no worries. It makes it seems like teens should want to be like her and be, in a sense, "irresponsible".
The ad is logical because because it symbolizes freedom. A person's sense of style is one thing no one can take away from them. How you dress is your choice and you can't get in trouble for expressing yourself. The model shown is nicely dressed in Pacsun clothing, and the majority of young people want to be looked at as "fashionable".
The girl on the ad looks like she just had a fun night out, and isn't that what all teens want? Underneath the phrase "dress irresponsibly", the ad is saying that if you buy their clothes, you'll be happier. Teens want to live it up while they're still young and the ad perfectly  expresses the typical, fun Friday or Saturday night they all want. The model's expression of happiness pulls at the audience's emotions of longing for fun and carelessness.

Symphony

Symphony, as Pink calls it "aptitude", is the ability to put together pieces. Some professions require symphonic thinking, such as composers, conductors, and artists. Composers and conductors take a variety of musical notes and place them in a pattern to make beautiful music, similar to artists who draw different shapes to create a big picture. Relationships are a large part of symphony. Composers and conductors had to make sure brass doesn't cover the sound of the woodwinds and artists, in drawing a portrait, have to proportion the eyes to not just each other but the entire face.While talking a five-day art class, Pink says his teacher had the class use various techniques out of the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards. In curiousity, I checked out the book online and chose one specific technique for my own experiment, drawing upside down. I had a hard time deciding what to draw so I took my sister's preschool picture down and used it. Drawing with the picture faced downward confuses the left, and most commonly used, side of the brain and lets the right side take control. In turning the picture upside down I saw portrait as more of a collaboration of shapes rather than just a photo.

So, here's the picture and what I ended up drawing..

(She had just got done crying before she had her picture made, if you're wondering why she looks sad.)

What happens to forgiveness? (Harlem poem)

What happens to forgiveness?
Does it conquer
like a case proved by a witness
And then all if forgotten?
Does it lie like an sweet girl turned rotten
Or does it lighten the mood
like a vivacious attitude
Maybe it just brings sorrow
like fearing the pain of tomorrow
Or does it deceive?

Character Analysis: Creon

Melina Norris
5-3-11
4B

Character Analysis: Creon

Many people today still agonize over what is truly right and wrong. Should one follow their heart or the law? - is the question. Creon of Sophocles’s Antigone is a prime example of one who struggles with this choice. Creon is a dynamic character, he quickly changes from the stereotypical harsh ruler to feeling more compassion toward Antigone.

Creon denies Antigone a burial for her brother, Polynices, he considers him a traitor. Antigone argues that "[he] was not a slave who died but [my] brother." Creon is the new king of Thebes since both previous rulers, Polynices and Eteocles, were killed in battle. In being so new to the throne, Creon wants everyone to follow the law and under no circumstances break it as he says in Antigone, "am I wrong to protect my own empire?" Clearly, the major conflict in Antigone is man vs. man because it is Antigone against Creon. Creon is consistently always disagreeing with Antigone and threatening her life until all of the hurt his decisions are causing start to tear his family apart.

Seen as a strict, inconsiderate ruler, Creon had many weaknesses and downfalls. He was full of pride and thought that because he is now king, no one is above him and can tell him what to do. Although "it is not [his] custom to disagree with [anyone]," Creon is considered the antagonist because he goes against the main character, Antigone. Though he has many flaws as a king, Creon has one particular strength; he is not easily persuaded. Creon is always firm in what he believes, which can be a good quality in a king. He does not doubt that following the law is the right thing to do until, at the end, he suddenly realizes all of the chaos and damage he has caused.

Creon, at times, comes across as a stern and unfair ruler but really only wants to keep the city of Thebes under control and just. He thinks he is doing what is right, but is not viewing the situation from Antigone’s side who has just lost both of her brothers. Throughout the majority of the Antigone, he stands by what he believes is right and best for the city; following what is law. He believes "[he] [knows] well that no human is strong enough to pollute the gods." But after seeing all the pain and suffering he has caused to his family and to Antigone by denying her brother a proper burial, he has a change of heart. But like all Greek tragedies, Antigone ends in tradgedy.

Because Creon was so harsh he watched his life and everyone in it crumble. Antigone, his son, Haemon, and his wife, Eurydice all took their own lives. Eurydice "struck herself in the heart with her own hand, when she learned the sad fate of her boy," Haemon, who committed suicide after seeing his betrothed’s, Antigone’s, lifeless body hang in the tomb. Creon payed for his bitterness, and although he tried to change, he was too late.

Sex Trafficking in the U.S.

Just about a week ago we had one of the biggest events in football, The Super Bowl. As I was researching sex trafficking, I came across an article titled Sex Trafficking Expected to Skyrocket During Super Bowl. It immediately sparked my interest and I started reading. The article stated that sex trafficking rates were supposed to increase during the Super Bowl, and that 250 underage girls are victims of sex trafficking in North Texas. Over 740 girls are exploited in Texas every year, and "It could be twice as high", Lyssa Jenkens told Dallas News. The study was merely based on online ads and escort services, which does not include all of the underaged girls "working the streets". I honestly had no idea sex trafficking was present in the United States, especially not this many girls. An estimated number of 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked in the U.S. each year for various reasons. Over 50% of the people are children, and 46% of people being trafficked are being sex trafficked. Although sex trafficking may be much more common in the rest of the world, that does not mean it doesn't exist here. I feel so sorry for all of these girls, I don't know much about what a person could do to help but hopefully researching this topic more throughout doing my project will help me with that.

Conely, Molly. "Sex Trafficking Expected To Skyrocket During Super Bowl." Protect Women (2011): n. pag. Web. 14 Feb 2011.