ENC 1102 Sept 30th Class Prompt

This prompt is ONLY FOR 1102 STUDENTS!!!!

As I am sure many of you know, there is a new law taking surge across the country that enforces how we as citizens should dress. Imagine that, the law telling you how you can wear your clothes or what you should wear. Yup, I'm talking about the sagging pants law. The law is spreading like wildfire all over the nation, which means our representatives are approving it.

The “Baggy Pants Bill” states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to appear in public wearing his pants below his waist and thereby exposing his skin or intimate clothing.”


Here in Florida the the Prek-12th Grade Education Committee unanimously approved Sen. Gary Siplin's "pull up your britches" bill (SB 302).

Youth who let their drawers droop to expose underwear, G-strings or worse at school will first get a verbal warning for their first offense but then face suspension if they keep doing.


Recently, Dr. Phil took up the debate featuring the Ying Yang twins and members of the Hip Hop Government. The argument around sagging pants, inevitably turns to point the finger at hip hop as the culprit for this phenomenom. (you can watch clips from the show by clicking on Dr. Phil's name above) The Hip Hop Government, whose mission is to "Mobilize people of the hip hop culture to use their vote for positive change for political, social and economic concerns" has teamed up with Dallas' City Hall and launched a "Pull up your Pants Campaign."

The year after I graduated from high school Florida began to aggresively implement the uniform code, stripping away the students' right to express their idividuality, and ensuring that boys were paying attention to the teacher at the front of the room who was teaching a lesson, and not on the girl next to him whose shirt was so low cut, he couldn't concentrate on learning. The argument for learning was obviously much stronger than the one for freedom of expression and identity because today I find myself buying white, blue or burgandy polos and khakis or jeans.

All the students look the same whereby making it a "safer learning environment" for all children, presumably of course. This is all of course because parents couldn't make sure that their daughters weren't dressing like hoochie-mamas and their boys weren't dressing like gangsters. The parents could not handle the responsibility themselves so they told the schools to implement rules that would handle the situation for them. They wanted their children to dress for success.....but they needed the system to be the enforcer.

Today, those same parents who insisted on a dress code in the Public School are complaining at my children's school because the principal is enforcing the dress code policy which includes not only wearing the colors they have assigned, but also that all children tuck in their shirts and wear belts. Now they are all in a hissy because for the last few years that rule was not enforced and their child is not going to tuck in their shirt, because they don't even like to, and if they have to they will get detention for it and I'm ok with it. Hmmm, I wonder where the rebellious attitudes to break laws come from. Breaking laws and challenging them however, are two different things.

So where do you stand on this issue of sagging pants? Fad or Fashion? Disrespect and Disgusting? Are you tired of seeing boxers, underwear, and thongs hanging out and no one doing anything about it? Is it time for the government to put their hand in making sure that people are "respecting" themselves by implementing a law that tells us how low we are allowed to wear our pants? Should the government stay out of our fashion codes? What's next? The government's going to start telling us what color underwear to wear? Or how about this thought: Could this potentially spark another form of racial profiling?

Watch this last video and respond as a comment, then respond to someone else's comment.

Blog #4: The Media (for both 1101 & 1102)

Ok, so before I get into this blog, I just wanted to share with you, the proud mommy that I am, that my son is in a band called Empty Presence, and this Sunday they had a gig at the Harley Davidson "Easy Rider Music Fest". So, of course, being the very proud mommy I am, I just wanted to share with you a video here on the blog. You can also click on their band name and it will take you to their youtube account where you can leave them some words of encouragement. They've been invited to perform at Drakes in Kendall so I'll make sure to keep you all posted! (BTW, my son is the one with Black hair, he's 12, his best friend is the bassist he is aslo 12 and the drummer is the bassist's brother who is only 10)

So what kind of effect do you think the media has on you? Do you think it has any influence on you? Have you ever thought about it or are you quick to say that the media has no influence on you, what you do, eat, dress and say? Why would it right? You are your own person, you make your own choices, your own decisions, you know what you like and what you don't like? Or do you? How much control do you really have?

When my oldest son was in Kindergarten, the first Spiderman movie was released. Of course he wanted to see it, as did we, and so we went off to see this great classic superhero movie. A few days later I was in his class, helping the teacher. We were chatting away and then she begins to tell me that my son had told her that he had seen Spiderman, but that he was a bit confused about something. He said he thought it was wierd that the Green Goblin was a white guy and not a black guy.

Did your mouth just drop to the floor? Well, you can imagine mine. Rest assured though, this is not something taught at home.

How about the correlation between "Girl Power" and The Powerpuff girls? Three very different girls, each one seemingly emboddying a "typical type" of female?

Mmmm, how about an oldopic revisited.....Sarah Palin in the media. Is it at all possible that many in our society are jaded about this "VPILF", as she has been referred to, because of the way the media has exploited her as a woman. It's quiet interesting how there is so much focus on her being a beautiful, hockey mom/woman of 5, in an effort to seduce the women in this country, rather than to be focused on her abilities and capabilities as a politician. The proof was in your journal entries for prompt #2, when many of you wrote "It's time for a woman", "If she can handle being a mom of 5 she can handle being VP", etc.etc. It left me wondering, of those of you who are excited about voting for Palin because she's a woman and because it's "time for a woman", how many of you have stopped to ask what her credentials are, besides being governor for several months, or how about what her education is? Do you know what her degree is in, or if she even has one for that matter?

Moving on to something else....SEX!!! Everyone loves this topic. We can talk about it and expose our kids to it everywhere we go and everywhere we are, but let's not do it in the classroom (according to Palin's view). Well, I want to talk about it in the classroom and no one can stop me. LOL!! Let's take a look at Sex in Spongebob. LOL! Spongebob? you say. Yup! Spongebob!! If parents aren't teaching their kids about sex at home, and they aren't learning it from friends at school, or being taught about sex in school from trained professionals who know what they are talking about, no worries, Spongebob is here!! Check this out....... :) Oh, and don't be thinking, "I'll never let my kids watch spongebob" because if you think it stops at Spongebob, you're kidding yourself. Think back to all those good old holsome DISNEY movies. Oh yeah, lots of sexual inuendo in them, never mind the direct implied notion of the power structures between a man and a woman. Anyways, I digress, check out this viedo.

Now what about music, tv shows and movies that you listen to and watch?? Why do you listen to the kind of music you listen to? Why do you watch the shows you watch? What kind of effect do you think they have on you? Do they influence the way you dress? The way you talk? The way you behave? No way, right? We are all individuals with our own minds and make our own choices because we have the freedom to so, right? Well, of course there are those who beg to differ. Here is an interesting video on..... well I don't want to spoil it. Enjoy!

Prompt #3; And you think you have it bad

The Devastation in Haiti

to see more pics by this photographer go to http://www.miamiherald.com/photogalleries/gallery/672518.html?number=28

The devastation in Haiti today, due to the hurricanes is horrendous. Storm after storm after storm this little country has been hit over and over again, and only after recently recovering from another devastating hurricane a few years ago.


Did you know that Haiti was once the richest clony in the entire world, but today Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti was once called the "Jewel of the Antilles" and now is considered the Hell-Hole of the Carribbean. Have you ever wondered why this is so, why is Haiti so poor? I'm sure many of you have discussed the seeming unfairness in the political refugee policies regarding Haitians who, like Cubans, put their lives at risk in the seas to arrive to this country for a better life. Have you ever investigated why the policies are as they are? Or do you just sit there and disagree with the policy and say it's not fair? Do you argue an issue or a topic that you potentially know nothing about? (if you are interested in learning a little more about why Haiti is so poor there is a great essay at http://www.webster.edu/~corbetre/haiti/misctopic/leftover/whypoor.htm)

People around Miami are already pulling together resources to send aid to Haiti and Cuba, but it also raises a lot of questions surrounding the U.S. embargo on Cuba and foreign policies regarding Haitian immigrants in the U.S. In an article written by JACQUELINE CHARLES, TRENTON DANIEL AND EVAN S. BENN titled "After Hurricane Ike, Haiti Needs `Flood of Helicopters’" I read the following passage:

”Despite our economic downturn in Florida, we must make a generous sacrifice,” Miami Archbishop John C. Favalora said.
Favalora assured that the money would be delivered directly to churches in Haiti, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, the Bahamas, Jamaica and other affected countries.He then waded into the contentious political debate surrounding U.S. policy toward Cuba and Haiti, calling for an immediate granting of temporary protected status for Haitians. That status would stop deportations of Haitians, which Favalora said would be unspeakably cruel given the current conditions on the island.
Favalora also said the United States should lift the embargo on Cuba for humanitarian reasons. Lifting the embargo would allow the church to more easily send ”far more donations” to storm victims, he said.
South Florida congressional representatives also urged President Bush to halt the deportation of illegal Haitian immigrants until the island recovers from Ike’s devastation. And a coalition of Cuban-American groups asked the Bush administration to temporarily lift the sanctions on family aid and remittances, as did Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama.
”The best thing is for people to get help from friends and family,” said Mayra Sanchez of North Miami, whose mother and daughter live in Las Tunas, Cuba, where storms have damaged many homes. “But Cubans can’t do that because of the embargo.”

Do these images appeal to your emotions? Do they bring up feelings of sympathy, sadness, pity? Do they make you want to do something about this situation or do you feel there is nothing you can do? Why do you think these images appeal to your emotions? What is in these images that provoke you? How much of it has do with the photographer and how much of it has to do with what is happening?

Last year I had the opportunity to finally visit my husbands homeland of Nicaragua. It is considered the second poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Yet it is a beautiful country with so much to offer and you see it in every corner you turn, in the smiles of the people, the welcoming homes, the children playing in the dirt, in their bright colored arts and crafts, on their black sanded beaches......sure there may not be central air conditioning or hot water everywhere you go, but those are minor issues compared to some of the issues the people must deal with on an everyday basis.

I want to introduce you The Children of the Dumpster:

In the city of Ocotal, in the northern part of Nicaragua, there live approximately 30 children at or near the local dump. These children not only live in some of the most deplorable conditions imaginable, but they spend the entire day, from 7am to 6pm working, rummaging
through the garbage at the dump, under inhumane conditions, collecting aluminum and plastic so they may in turn sell them to recycling buyers. The little bit of money they make is enough to feed them for the day. Of these 30 children twenty are boys and ten are girls. They range in ages from 4 years old to 16 years old. Of the thirty, only 5 attend school. Most no longer can read or write because it has been so long since the last time they went to school. Most are homeless and orphaned, and some even live at the dumpster itself with only a plastic tarp as cover. There are no adults with these children except for one mother who
is accompanied by her young daughter every day. Although Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, it is also one of the poorest. While it is rich in beauty and culture, it is an impoverished country, and ranks as the 2nd poorest country of the western hemisphere after Haiti.

What can be done about any of these two countries? Should we feel compelled to do anything? Have you ever travelled somewhere and had an experience that remained with you forever? Do you care? Does it matter? Do you believe you have the power to change things or is it pointless to even try because it will never change, or because they need to fix their own problems?

Note: Remember that you can go anywhere with these prompts. If you want to argue a position, you can argue, if you want to inform, you can inform, if you want toentertain, you can entertain, if you want to pursuade, you can pursuade. And if you are adventurous and want to do all 4, be my guest, just don't feel locked into doing onw thing.

Women, Women, Women.....and Men?

People say that there are two things you shouldn't discuss with family and friends: Politics and Religion

But if you can't discuss these issues with family and friends, then who do you discuss them with? Yourself? And why shouldn't we discuss these issues with family and friends? Because you might hurt someone's feelings with your own opinions? Because they may think less of you for having your own opinion? Should we not voice our own opinions?

2009 marks the calendar for a new presedential elect and as such there has been a lot of rhetoric surrounding the campaigns and the now last two standing presendential candidates. Recently we discovered who the two have chosen as their vice presidential running mates.

On one hand we have the "less experienced" black male presidential candidate running alongside the "older, wiser more experienced" white male vice president and on the other we have the "older, wiser more experienced" white male presidential candidate running alongside the "less experienced" white female vice president.

Things could not have gotten more juicier than this!!! This is a FIRST in our history!!

We've been discussing issues of marginalization in class and this could not be better timing.

This morning as I was getting ready to go to work I couldn't help but overhear the conversation of the ladies from The View regarding vice president nominee Gov. Palin's daughter pregnancy. I'm sure you have all heard, but in case you haven't because you're not up to speed with what is going on with the election, it turns out that Gov. Palin's 17 yr old daughter is 5 months pregnant. According to McCains camp, they knew of the news when they offered Palin the vice presidency nomination. It was also confirmed that Palin's 5th child and newborn has down syndrome. Besides these two issues, Palin is a, dare I say, WOMAN! And, not only is she a woman, but she is, according to the Alaska Report, "American's Hottest Governor"!! So all of this is of course stirring up a lot of conversation and debate, primarily regarding the role of the woman.....duhn duhn duhn...

Ah, the role of the woman. The woman wears so many hats in this society: mother, sister, daughter, professional, lover, friend, etc. etc. But wait doesn't the man also? Father, brother, husband, professional, lover, friend, etc. etc.

As I was listening to the debate between the women, they discussed Palin's ability to be a mom of 5 and help govern the country and how she would manage all of these responsibilities. They touched on Palin's stance on abstinence and her stance on sex education in the schools (which she opposes in case you didn't know). They touched on how different the sentiment would have been had it been a black daughter that got pregnant (in other words, non supportive). Basically, most of the rhetoric surrounded the topic of women being professional moms and young women (teens) getting pregnant and their choice to keep a child. But what really got my attention within the conversation was a little comment that was made regaring the young man who impregnated Bristol (Palin's daughter)and how no one was talking about him.

It got me thinking, as the mother of two boys, where do men stand in all of this? What options or choices do men have when a woman gets pregnant? Bristol wants to keep the baby, so the family says (they are pro life after all), but what about the young man? What does he want? Does it matter what he wants?

I have my opinions on all of these issues of course, but I'm more interested in your opinions. You are the next generation of young voters, of which I hope all of you who are of age for this election are registered or will register to vote, and you will have a voice as you get older in helping form and mold the way society evolves.

I began this prompt by saying that there are two things you shouldn't discuss with family and friends; religion and politics. I then questioned why this is so and ask if it has to do with the fact that we should not discuss these matters because they are opinions. But what's wrong with opinions? Do you have an opinion? Or is your opinion formed by others, i.e your family, your religion, etc.? On the other hand, is your opinion formed by facts, stats, numbers? Or through experience? Do you question or challenge your own opinion or stances on issues? Do you look at them multidimensionally? Are you able to play devil's advocate with yourself? Can you put yourself in someone else's shoes? Do you care to have a voice? Or do you not care at all?