The War on Drugs

The House I Live In really opened my eyes to the affects that "the war on drugs" has had on our country.  Prior to watching this documentary, I did not realize that the system that was designed to diminish the impact drugs have on our country not only failed beyond measure, but actually seems to have worsened the problem.

I believe the manner in which this documentary was put together was extremely effective.  Both the lawbreakers and their families and the law enforcement officials all seem to have a collective opinion that the war on drugs has failed.  I would have to agree with them.

However, I was so blown away by how drastically wrong everything went that I nearly overlooked the victims, besides the criminals.  I am certain they were left out as part of a strategy, to make the government the only responsible party for the drug problem in America and I don’t discount that the hold a lot of culpability.  But if I were filming this documentary, I would include the real casualties to the war on drugs.  Those are the ones who have died at the hands of the dealers and the users.  Not only those who have overdosed, but those who may have lost their lives due to the violence behind drugs.  They talked about the children who became drug dealers because it’s all they knew, but they failed to address the ones who never made it that far.

Doing illegal drugs IS a crime and it does impact innocent people’s lives.  The documentary failed to address a crucial point as they did not discuss or interview people whose children lost their lives because of another person’s involvement in drugs.  This would add more truth to the documentary.  Seeing not just the deterioration of life as a result of dealing drugs or doing drugs, but instead, seeing the bigger problem behind drugs and that is the loss of innocent lives and families destroyed. 

So although I can see the point behind the story, there is more to be said on the war on drugs. 

Sarah Grimke and me

The character I can relate to the most in the book, The Invention of Wings, is Sarah Grimke.  From a very young age, Sarah was a strong minded individual who constantly challenged, well, everything. She was determined to break down the barriers set in place by society and make her own rules.  For most of my life, in probably different ways, but maybe some the same as Sarah, I have confronted and overcame many of my own obstacles.

I believe it is important to make the right choices in life for the right reasons.  We should be good to one another because it is the right thing to do, not because we expect something in return.  Giving Handful back to her mother in protest of slavery is something that I would probably do.  Sarah believed that owning a slave, another human being, was just not right.  She wanted no part of.  Although, she later realized her mistake, she still did what she thought was the right thing at the time.

  I could also relate to Sarah was when Israel proposed to her and she denied him.  He did not just propose marriage to her.  He expected that she would give up her own life and just be happy living in his.  She declined his proposal, maybe because she realized that he did not love her the same way she loved him. But it was absolutely because she was not willing to compromise the person she had become.  Like her, I would never lose myself to be in any relationship with anyone.  If we don't stand up for what we believe in, or if we allow people to take away our passion, we can no longer claim to be who we were.

The Invention of Wings

I read The Invention of Wings, a book written by Sue Monk Kidd.  The story portrays the bond, or should I say obligation, that Sarah Grimke and Hetty 'Handful' Grimke have with one another.  I appreciate how the story spans over a period of 35 years, illustrating how each girl develops to the determined woman she will become by the end of the book.  Handful, a slave born into the Grimke family, was given to Sarah on her 11^th birthday as a gift when she was only ten years old herself.  From the moment she received her, Sarah opposed the concept of slavery.


Throughout the years, she tried to be lenient on Handful and eventually returned her to her mother, as she did not want to be a slave owner.  But what is interesting is that, although she opposed the idea of slavery, she did little to avoid reaping the benefits of living in a home kept together by slaves.  There were times she protested, but for a long time, she seemed to resign herself to idea that there isn’t much she can do about it slavery.


I do not think Sarah truly understood the importance of standing up for the freedom of slaves (and eventually rights for woman) until she was almost 30 years old, when she traveled to Philadelphia.  It may have been a result of living in the north, where slavery was abolished, but I believe it was the guilt she felt by leaving Handful behind. 


I am certain Sarah was haunted by the fact that she left Handful in Charleston at the mercy of her own family, who were not humane like her.  I have admiration for the courage Sarah showed at the end of the story.  She would do whatever it took to help her faithful servant Handful and her sister Sky become free, even if it might mean losing her own freedom. 

My First Paper

When I sat down to start writing my first, official college paper, I was confident I would breeze through the process.  I had to compare two articles that I previously read, related to education and write about them.  I decided that my main point would be to somehow associate these articles to my own experience with my son’s education.  But after hours of writing, I struggled to connect the main point into the story I had written.  It was all wrong.  I was wrong.  Up until that very moment, I thought I was a good writer!

I created a thesis statement that I couldn’t support.  For days, I tried to rewrite the paragraphs I had previously written, so they would support my main idea.  It finally occurred to me that I had to change my main idea to support the four pages I had written.  My writing wasn’t great, but once I changed my thesis statement, I was able to connect my thoughts to actually make sense.  My opinion was much more apparent and hopefully, my reader could see my point of view more clearly. 

I’m sure the next paper I write will be much easier.  However, I learned a lot by getting through this first one.  I need to be a little less attached to my first draft.  There will always be more than one rewrite.  And even the final paper could always be improved upon.

The idea of writing another paper causes me a little bit of anxiety, but I am also looking forward to become a better writer through the process.

Pop Culture VS Real Life Education

     Dead Poets Society is about privileged kids who are driven to always be the best at all cost, being told what to do with not much choice.  These kids are being groomed to be future leaders and are expected to comply with what society expects from them.  That is until one teacher decided to show them how to dance to a different beat.  After seeing things from a different perspective, their own, they challenge the norm in their school and in their life.  When Mr. Keating encouraged them to find something that inspires them, they discovered there is more to life than other people’s expectations.

Until we learn to reach deep inside ourselves, how can we understand our full potential and what we have to offer?  Our schools need teachers who will challenge the students and teach them how to use their imaginations, how to think outside of the box.  We need teachers who will help students get past all the barriers that they set for themselves.  Getting students out of their comfort zone would help them to maximize their own potential.  Being a great teacher is sometimes about putting students in the direction of that potential and sometimes it's teaching them that it exists in the first place.

As a society, we often think it’s the underprivileged kids that lose out on the best education available.  The truth is, schools can stand for improvement in every neighborhood.  No matter how much clout your family's status holds in the community or what type of financial circumstance you were born into, you should be entitled to the same quality of education as anyone else.

 



My Education

I was very fortunate when it comes to my education.  I am the third of four children, raised by an uneducated, single mother who only ever held blue collar jobs.  In spite of coming from a working class family, I believe I got at least a middle class education.

Looking back, one of the first people to make an impact on my life was my fourth grade teacher at Shull-David Elementary School.  Most of the kids I went to school with grew up in homes very different from mine and boy, did they know it.  I didn't fit in.  I didn't have many friends.  I was one of the few ‘less fortunate’ kids in our school.  Mrs. P. is what we called her and honestly, it's all I can remember today.  With a smile, she sat me down one day encouraged me to focus on schoolwork and not get caught up with what the other kids thought.  I realize now that she recognized potential that I didn't know existed until many years later.  But I stuck my head in my books and I concentrated on my work from that day forward.

Up until high school, I studied, worked hard and applied myself because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do.  It wasn’t until I reached high school at Lehighton Area High School that the teachers’ goals were more apparent.  I realized that it was almost expected that most of us would be going to college.  That's what we were being prepared for.

My school career was challenging, but easier than it appeared to be.  What the teachers were offering was only limited by what I was open to receiving from them.  The exceptional education I received was not only a result of my efforts.  It was the teachers and the tools and recourses offered by my school district that allowed me to reach my full potential.

 

 

Getting to know Rahmah

Rahmah Jan, a 25 year old Saudi Arabian woman, moved with her husband, Abdulaziz Alshehri of seven years to California.  After spending a year on the west coast, the couple packed up their things and moved to Allentown, PA, where they have been building a life for the last two years.  They have been studying English and are enrolled in this writing course together.  They are the proud parents of 15 month old twin boys.



The homemaker, student, wife and mother has very little time for herself.  Outside of school,

where she is taking four classes a semester to earn a Business Administration degree, she fulfills her household and family obligations with devotion.  She boasted of her cooking ability to prepare four to five meals at one time.  Her favorite things to cook are pasta, lasagna, rice and all types of meat.  Baking cakes and cookies is something she would like to do more, but as her husband does not eat sweets, she rarely bakes these types of things.  Interestingly, she makes banana and watermelon juice, which she says are very easy to make and delicious!

 

In Saudi Arabia, woman's rights are limited (Women's rights in Saudi Arabia).  Driving and advanced schooling are just a few things she, as a woman, was not allowed to do in her home country.  Although she has no extended family here to support her, she intends to stay here and eventually find a job in her field.  Her husband is currently teaching her to drive.  She is very excited about this new adventure, although she admits, she is a little nervous. 

 

At a glance, Rahmah is a reserved, but happy, always having a smile on her face.  You can’t let her shyness fool you.  She has more courage than most people I know.  In spite of moving what probably seems like a million miles away from her family, her culture, her life and starting over in a strange and different place, she remains positive and determined.