Blog 11

What are you most proud to show during your Student Led Conference?
I am most proud to show my grades. Even though its the beginning of the year I still have good grades. I am also proud of the fact that I am taking all honors possible this semester. 

What would you like to change, following your SLC?
What I would like to change about my SLC is how prepared my resume was. I know that my resume is not where it should be. I plan on changing this by dedicating a block of time to working on my resume and getting it critiqued by my old teachers. 

What goals do you have for the remainder of the semester?
My main goal for this semester is to get a 4.3 GPA. I will strive for this goal by being on task as much as possible and working on every project to the best of my ability. 

What are your ideas for internship... and how will you work with a parent or guardian on securing a great 
internship?
Some ideas i have for internship is to intern at the Sharp hospitals down the street. Either in a specialist building for surgeries or in a pediatrician building for kids. I will work my family friends to get an internship with them at there office. 

Blog 10

1. What is history?

History is the study of the past events. Events can include the life and death of a person, a win or lose, anything that happen in the past. History is continually written everyday. We look towards history to correct our mistakes and not make the same mistakes. We also learn from history to understand why things are today.

2. What is ideology?

Ideology is "not just a subject for intellectual debate, but a matter of life and death." (Introduction American Ideology) Ideology is a belief, a theme, or an idea. Ideology is a certain belief that the majority of the population uses. "two of these so-called Christians met two Indian boys one day, each carrying a parrot; they took the parrots and for fun beheaded the boys." (A Young Peoples History of the United States) 

3. Can history be neutral? Why or why not?

History should not be neutral but history is bias. History is wirrten in a way that the following generation would be proud of their country. Christopher Columbus is a example. When you learn about him in elementary school you only hear about the good thing. You hear about how he sailed across the sea to find new land. But they did not included what he did when he got there. You would not want your grandchildren to know that you led an expedition to a new land and you completely destroyed their culture. History is not neutral, history is presented to show how great a person was not the faults he had. 

4. Zinn discusses what he considers the typical way Americans study or understand history. How has your experience (either in school, or simply in your life) been similar?

Throughout class we are shown how great America is but we do not see what we did to get here. "“This was the start of the history of Europeans in the Americas. It was a history of conquest  slavery, and death. But for a long time, the history books given to children in the United States told a Different story-a tale of heroic adventure, not bloodshed. The way the story is taught to young people is just the beginning to change.” (A Young Peoples History of the United States) America is shown as a very great and proud nation through its history books. What many people don't understand is the crimes against humanity America commit to get here.

5. When you consider Zinn's discussion of the typical American study or understanding of history, how has your experience (in school or in life) been different?

Since we were little, we have read about the great battles America has participated in and has won. Yet we are never told the wars we lost they are simply classified as "withdrawn". I was born in a different country and my family has only started living in the US, because of that I have a different view on the US. I have been on both sides of the world. A first world country and a third world country and seeing what America is in person and just speculating it from the outside is different. I grew up knowing America is not the paradise the world sees but a country with its messes hidden.

6. What did you read that stood out to you positively? Why?

I liked how the author in How the U.S. lLost Out on iPhone Work is how he gave the important facts first. " Almost all 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads, and 59 million other products were manufactured overseas." When an author gives huge statistics at the beginning it will keep my attention. It stood out because it showed the sheer magnitude of the work being done for apple. It stood out positively because it shows me what I want to know at the beginning not draw big gigantic circles for me to endlessly follow. 

7. What did you read that you disliked? Why?

What I disliked about the articles was how lengthy each article was, it was excess information just like my Narrative Nonfiction book. I rather them give me the main facts instead of every little bit of story. " I had grown up in the dirk and dankness of New York tenements, had been knocked unconscious by a policeman while holding a banner in a demonstration, had worked for three years in a shipyard, and participated in the violence of war." (Passionate Declarations) I thought all this extra background knowledge is unnecessary for the topic of unjust war. Why do you need to know that he got knocked unconscious before, that has nothing to do with war. 

8. How were some of your biases or preconceived notions confirmed by what you read?

The fact that the United States hides the bloodshed they have caused in the past. People see how great America is until they see its past. 

9. How were some of your biases or preconceived notions challenged by what you read?

In the iPhone story I already knew that Apple is getting blamed for shipping the work oversees. What I do not get is why lame them. They are a business they want to make money. You cannot blame Apple for taking away jobs when they are the ones who create it. I was challenged by the fact that many people are to blind by there own self interest to see a business frame of mind. I am pretty sure if you put any person who lost there job into Steve Jobs position they would not help the rest of America. 

10. What unique perspective, element of creativity, or new questions do you bring to our study of history?

I want to know the other side of the story. We might have won this war but I want to know what the country who lost has to say about it. What is in there history books? And what is there view on the event that just happened.