Perfect Parent

The term "perfect parent" should be eliminated from the world. There is no such thing as a perfect parent. We as parents should strive to be the best example that our kids can mimic. We often try to say that one way is the best vs. another way. What works for one parent may not work for another. The author made a very good point about the trends of parenting changing often. One minute we are beating the kids, now parents are going to jail. In the last chapter, it was mentioned that abortion was one of the reasons that crime had decreased, maybe it was due to the fact that teachers were able to spank the students and parents were not fearful of being sent to prison or of facing abuse charges. What is the definition of a perfect parent (offspring become successful) or (a college degree was obtained by the student). What we have to understand is that we all make mistakes and whats important is that we learn from them and try to avoid them in the future.

Where are the criminals?

The criminals are right here. I do believe that there is a correlation between abortions and crime but its not the main reason, maybe a fraction of a reason for crime dropping. Whether abortion is legal or not crime still exists. The book throws stats and figures at us but what does it mean. What about all of the unreported crimes that happen daily, the rapes, murders of people whose family never file a missing persons case, daily drug transactions. Crime is definitely still occurring, criminals are just getting clever. I do see that woman being forced to have kids that they do not want may account for some children being mistreated, but again children are mistreated every day, children that were made purposely. A mistreated child does not always become a criminal, and these woman being forced to have children do not always mistreat or abuse their children as the book is suggesting. Just because abortion is legal does not mean that every unwanted baby will be aborted. There are tons of children who are resented for other reasons besides being born. I was on birth control and I got pregnant with my second daughter, abortion was a legal option for me but it was not a moral one, I was not in a good situation for bringing another baby into the world but I worked through my problems and made the best of it. We need to stop blaming the government for our problems and look at ourselves for a solution.

drug dealers and their moms

Drug dealers live with their moms simply because they cannot afford to live on their own. If you are not on the top of the drug pyramid then you are making minimum wage. You are putting yourself at risk for anything to happen. If you do manage to get an apartment 50% of the time it will be taken away because eventually you will go to jail for drug crimes and no one will pay your bills and you will be back home with your mom anyway. The situation is even worse if the dealer is also a user. The product that they are to sell becomes an addiction for them.

kkk and real estate agents

Quoted from the book "Once that information falls into the wrong hands, much of the group's advantage disappears". The KKK and real estate agents are alike in a way. They had information the was to only benefit themselves. The KKK had a secret language and way of communicating. Once Mr. Stetson was able to publicize this information, it was very damaging to the KKK, they could no longer plan secret meetings and attacks for fear of being ambushed. This eventually led to members leaving and this I believe is due to the fact that they were scared. Yes they seemed to act superior but they hid behind sheets, which in my opinion is shameful.

Real Estate agents will try to make something sound so good and they will use verbiage that you think you are not swift enough to follow. The make money off of selling you a house. They will pull every trick out of their hats so that you fall victim to buying. A little research on your part can be the difference between paying $10,000 or more for a house that's not even worth it. Doing your homework before purchasing is always a plus.

School Teachers and Sumo Wrestlers

Money makes the world go round. The study with the daycare and parents being fined is a prime example of people showing you there value in a hidden way. Any decent parent should have no problems picking their kids up from school on time. When the daycare added the $3.00 late fee, parents laughed at the price and even more parents were coming late, letting us know that there is a price for everything, even spending time with my kids. They feel like since they are paying a few that they should not feel guilty about being late. This is so wrong for a number of reasons. You are putting a value on time and that is a dangerous habit to form.

Teachers cheating in standardized tests was a shock to me. I would have never looked at it through this angle of an incentive. I would assume that the teachers would not teach and by doing this it would create job security for reinforcing the same material over and over until it was mastered. The fact that a teacher would cheat is a direct blow to themselves because they probably felt that their teaching was inadequate and that the kids should be compensated in some way and cheating is the best solution in their eyes.

Gender

Fuentes essay about the way a woman dresses and the level of success is ridiculous. I am so tired of people being judged by the exterior. When you are a politician, why does the way you dress determine what the world thinks of you. I learned that lesson the hard way. When I was in the 11th grade I had an honors english teacher who wore jeans and brand named shirts and nike sneakers. He was around 30 years old and he was a white man. At first glance I said "this is going to be an easy class". I assumed that because he did not dress professional, that he wasn't going to act professional. Well to make a long story short I was so wrong in more ways than 1. That english class was no walk in the park. You should never be judged by what you are wearing. Clothing is a way that a person can express themselves and become an individual. I do not want to look like corporate America. As long as the clothes are clean, its good enough for me.

About Movies

As a movie fan, I do not like to breakdown movies, or try to determine what the writer or director was targeting. I do like movies with morals and meaning. In my opinion, some movies do have hidden messages but its not to the extent that they want you to go home and write an essay about it. The glits and glam do not appeal to me, it is the message that gets me. Just because a movie costs millions to make does not make it a hit.

Hooks words on Waiting To Exhale were shocking to me. Waiting To Exhale was a movie about 4 woman struggling mentally with relationships, love and men. They were financially stable. Their struggles were real. Most woman who are single want a loving relationship whether they admit it or not. Now I did not agree with the way that these woman were seeking their men but again, this is what I see as a woman on a daily basis. I do not believe that this movie is culturally dangerous. We need to stop and acknowledge that what 4 woman do in a movie in regards to men, sex, drinking and smoking should not be considered an influence or representation of our culture.

Another point was on Native Americans. The movies always have them saying nothing or close to nothing. In the movie One who flew over the cuckoo's nest, the Indian barely said 2 words. He was very capable of defending himself and the others. What does that say about how Americans feel about Native Americans. Do we believe that they don't deserve to be heard? I really cannot think of any other modern movies with Native Americans in them but you never see the Indian as the superhero or the doctor, or family man.

Sports Taboo

"White Men Can't Jump", came directly to my mind as I was reading this text. It was about a white man who could play basketball very well. He really couldn't slam dunk but aside from that he was great. The black men on the basketball court decided to compete for money and finally the white man won and it was a great defeat because according to the black men, there was no way that they were going to let that white man beat that them at their own sport. This is so wrong in some many ways. There are no black and white sports. Yes I do agree that most of the black athletes are glorified. And I believe that this happens because people tend to believe that without sports that black people cannot succeed. This type of acknowledgement only hinders that white people who do not get the same respect as a black person playing with the same level of aggression and making the same amount of points. Before Tiger Woods came about, Gulf was thought to be a white mans sport. I have yet to even see a white female play gulf. And the same goes for Venus and Serena Williams with Tennis. Correct me if I am wrong, but I don't see the Williams sisters as black tennis players. I see them as great tennis players whether they are white or black is not a factor for me.

It is really mind blowing how just about everything that I have read in "the world is a text" has some level of black vs. white or man vs. woman. When can we start looking at individuals for who they are.

Black Kids In The Cafeteria

My middle school and high school memories are very clear to me. I went to a 80% inner city urban school and I did not notice that there was a "black" table of kids at lunch. Honestly we all mixed in very well. I did notice that most of the Asian kids sat together but that was about it. I can relate to the fact that most of the Asian and white kids did succeed alot more academically than the other races. In most inner city or urban schools there can be alot of distractions. I was one of the few who did not the distractions get the best of me. I do feel that the black kids definintely stuck together when it came to fights and things of that nature. It may have been a plus that 50% of our teachers were also black.

Segregation in schools is very common. It is just not linked to races, but also when it comes to sports or clubs. I did notice that the "pretty girls" had their cliques and that football players hung out together and so on. People tend to draw near whoever is closely related to them, or who they feel is interested in the same things that they are interested in.

Race And Ethnicity

Before I read this essay I was unaware that some stereotypes can be positive. I am not a racist or a prejudice person, but I can say that I am now aware of some perceptions that I have in regards to people. Like that text says, some people stereotype without even knowing it. If I would hear someone saying that a kid took a bomb to school and wrote a suicide note at home before he/she left for school, I would assume that the kid was a white boy and that he was a loner. Maybe it is just profiling, I am not sure. The FBI does it all the time though. It is still wrong, but some of these practices have helped our nation in finding some serial killers and rapists.

Social Classes can be defined many different ways. Like that text says about someone making $20,000 vs $200,000. They both may classify themselves as middle class and I believe that this is based on their livestyles and enviornment in which they live in. For example, I consider myself as a low class citizen. I have no money saved and I live paycheck to paycheck. I don't live in city limits, but to someone who lives in subsidized housing with no job, they may consider that I am a middle class citizen. There is no real right or wrong answer for defining someones class.

"Black Bart" Simpson:

In my opinion, African Americans related to Bart Simpson and ran with it. With the disrespectful tendencies that he has towards is parents and lack of parental guidance, I can honestly see why the relation came to. The Bill Clinton incident with Monica Luwinsky paved the way for Clinton to be recognized by African Americans. Bill Clinton getting "head" became very popular with the urban community. I can remember hearing people say "I knew he was really Black". I hate to admit it but Black people relate to anyone or anything that they tend to see on a daily basis. They also tend to relate to people who normally appear differently than what they really are.

Life According to TV

Gerbner talks about how TV sends hidden messages about people in regards to race, class and sex, He also did a survey about prime time television and the results showed that the viewers who watched tv alot chose more tv influenced answers oppossed to viewers who watch less tv and they chose more realistic answers. I can imagine how this would be true, because if you are usually influenced by what you observe more of. He also made a note about what viewers prefer to watch on tv and do not agree with the networks idea on this. I believe that a change for example on who plays the victim would make better ratings. When I watch most movies, I can just about predict the outcome.

The World Is A Text 1-21

I now understand the concept of reading and writing and how they relate to each other. Like the book states"Only by reading well can you write well". As a high school student, I struggled with writing papers and putting my thoughts in writing. I would read the required material but I had no idea how to present it. It makes perfect sense to me now that understanding what you are reading can actually make your writing piece clear.

The world is really a text. Lettering style and font size really gives the audience an automatic perception of things. The advertisement and the product being sold is being targeted to a specific consumer and the style can help pull them in.

This chapter was excellent because it pointed out ideas for the start of writing a paper. This book focuses on how to become an ideal college level writer.

My name is Marquetta. There is not an interesting story behind my name. My mother told me that my aunt liked it and it stuck. I was unnamed for about 3 days. Piccola would have been my name if my aunt had not rescued me. I was never given a nickname. My mother always says, "your name is your name, and you don't need another version of it".