I’m going to be using a youtube video called, ” I Just Sued The School System,” by Prince Ea. Thesis: After school being around for so long, the flaws of the school system have appeared to do more harm than good to students, especially today.

My goal for this essay is to address the flaws of the school system and how it affects students. I want to address how a teacher teaching the same thing the same way to multiple students can have a negative impact. I also want to address how important the job of a teacher is and how they’re not appreciated the way they should. I was inspired to do this topic because growing up, school came relatively easy for me. However, after I missed school for half a year after I fractured my leg and had to get surgery, I came back and everything was different. Trying to keep up in school became very difficult for me. No matter how much a teacher would try to explain to me stuff, it was still hard to understand. While some of my teachers tried to explain things to me to get me to understand, I had some teachers that kept going by the books and trying to show me the same way over and over again. I found this youtube video during my sophomore year and I instantly understood and resonated with the message of how all students are different, but the system is the same for every person. This thesis is important because I feel like I’m not the only one that’s gone through this and I feel like the school system does more harm than good. I plan on doing more research on how the school system has affected students both mentally and how it shaped their futures.

The terms “undocumented immigrants” and “illegal aliens” are two phrases to describe people that come to the United States without legal documentation.  Although they are similar, they are different in describing people. An undocumented immigrant is a way to describe someone that came from another country but does not have the proper documents and papers to live in this country. An illegal alien is a harsher way of saying that implying that because someone isn’t from this country they are not human or they are an alien. The second term is a lot more offensive.

In the text, ” Outlaw: My Life in America as an Undocumented Immigrant,” Jose Antonio Vargas is an immigrant from the Philippines. He tells his story of how he got to the United States when he was in middle school and didn’t find out he was undocumented until he was in high school. He describes getting put on a plane by his mother and her telling him that the man with him was his uncle. After arriving in the U.S., Vargas started 6th grade and started to live a normal life. He didn’t find out his green card was fake until he tried to get his driving permit. After finding this out, he tried to be more cautious about people not finding out. However, now that he knew he was undocumented, he couldn’t do everything he wanted. He originally wasn’t going to go to college because he couldn’t apply for financial aid and his family couldn’t afford it. He did end up in college but could not apply for certain internships of interest because he didn’t have all the information that was required. These are the kind of things that he dealt with in his life, as well as other undocumented immigrants.

In this situation, Vargas should be referred to as an undocumented immigrant rather than an illegal immigrant. They are both diminishing. But calling someone an illegal alien is implying you don’t see them as human beings. Calling someone an undocumented immigrant that is undocumented is true. However, no one should be called either of these. All people are human beings and they don’t deserve this. Most people that come to the U.S. are fleeing from unprecedented circumstances. They are coming here because they want a better life for themselves and their kids or future children. It’s disheartening the way certain people treat them because they want a better life. People need to be more open-minded and empathic to solve these problems. But all of that takes time.

Both John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln’s addresses were very similar. They both address issues between people in the U.S. and around the world. The issues are the same but under different circumstances. Abraham Lincoln talks about how this great country was founded long ago and this Civil War is a test to see whether the nation could endure. John F. Kennedy talks about how almost a century later, we know what the problems are, we know how to fix them, but they just keep escalating. He said that the weapons of war are always ahead of the weapons of peace. They both think the United States has problems when it comes to equality. They both know that all people are equal and not all people are treated equally. Today, most of these problems are still yet to be solved. There has been progress, and a lot of things have changed for the better. However, a lot of things have changed for the worst or stayed the same. A big part of it is there’s a person in power who is foolish and oblivious to most of the problems. He’s a big reason there hasn’t been much progress toward fixing them recently. Things can get better. But only after there is someone in power that is aware of the issues of this country and of the world.

Malcolm X described how and what he felt during prison. He describes his sudden love for reading and it made him felt freer than he’s ever felt even though he was in prison. This narrative shows the idea that there is a relationship between literature and freedom. Based on what this narrative shows, I agree with this idea that there is a relationship between literature and freedom. I feel that this is one of those things where a person can find happiness in despair. Solitude in hardships. It’s a situation where you can find something good during a bad time. I believe that this is what Malcolm went through and that is why he became infatuated with reading at a time like that. However, I do agree with this notion. It is very possible to find things of meaning in dark times.

Literature and freedom are two different things. However, they are similar in the impact they have. Literature is one of the most important aspects of life. It can create wonderful stories as well as empower them. It can create the idea of empowerment and also put the idea and into words and action. Literature is a form of art that can be used to create and mold visions of anything. Freedom is similar to this. The idea of freedom can be used and interpreted in many ways. Freedom is something that people of color wanted and still want to this day. Freedom can be the right to be yourself and not care what people think. These ideas with freedom I think very well correspond with the ideas of literature.

Language played a huge role in Amy Tan’s life. It played a big role because since her family is immigrants, it shaped her as a person. Language shaped Amy’s perception of herself. Due to the fact that her mother spoke broken English, she thought that because she was raised by someone with imperfect English, it lowered her English grades and also how she did on English test. ” I think my mother’s English almost had an effect on limiting my possibilities in life as well… While my English skills were never judged as poor, compared to math, English could not be considered my strong suit.” This shows that she thinks her struggles in English compared to math has somewhat to do with the fact she was raised by an immigrant mother who spoke a broken English. She became aware of her language biases because when she would speak publically to other students and adults, she would speak normal, proper English. However, when her mother was mixed into the group of people she realized the difference in the way she talked. ” Recently, I was made keenly aware of the different Englishes I do use. I was giving a talk to a large group of people, the same talk I had already given to half a dozen other groups… My mother was in the room. And it was perhaps the first time she had heard me give a lengthy speech.”

People who’s second language is English or are raised in non-english households are constantly aware of the way language is used around them. English is my first language. However, I was raised in a spansh household. I am always changing the way in speak. In public, with other people, I speak normal English. But at home speak both spanish and broken English because my mom speaks both. Sometimes we just switch back and forth without realizing and that’s how it is for most non-english households.

My name is John Fernandez. I’m 17, but I turn 18 at the end of the month. I’m a theater major at Lehman and I want to make my minor Dance when we return to the campus. I prefer he/him/his.

After reading the syllabus, I’m excited about this course. The main thing I’m excited about is just to be writing. I love writing because I find it low-key relaxing (depending on the topic). One thing I’m not excited about is that this course looks very fast pace and I’m worried that I could fall behind in this course. But besides that, I’m looking forward to this class.

A quality of a good writer is being able to let the writing flow. This is important because when the writing flows, it grabs the attention of the reader. If there’s no flow, there is no structure to the writing and it’s just random words. To be a good writer, one needs to not only be creative but to be able to just go with the moment and let the words come to him/her. When I write, I don’t plan what I’m going to write. I just read the question and I just write what flows in my brain. Sometimes it’s easy and other times it feels like there is a mental block. Being able to write well is important because I think developing good writing skills translates to having good communication skills.

I don’t think there’s the easiest part of writing for me. I have strengths and weaknesses. One thing I do well is letting words flow if I can get creative with the topic. The hardest part of writing for me is when the topic is difficult for me, I get blocked and I don’t know what to write and that’s the biggest thing I need to work on with my writing.

For my major, I’ll most likely be writing things like scripts and lyrics. Being an effective writer can help my opportunities because it gives me more options in my field.