Letter to the President

Dear Mr. President:

We have seen in the past that the Marshall Plan works. After World War Two, we spent nearly thirteen billion helping Europe rebuild what we had helped to damage, and, in return, we have friendly relations. We have also seen how not aiding countries we have harmed has backfired, and we have gone to war over it. At the ends of current wars as well as future ones, I believe that “nation building” should be utilized as much as possible. Our last President grew to accept the Marshall plan (although he never truly enacted it), despite dismissing “Nation Building” during his run for President, and I believe you should, too.  It will help to boost foreign relations, and potentially prevent future wars or attacks. How our current war (Afghanistan) ends, will provide context for how the next one begins. If we help to rebuild their nation after the war is over, through providing people, resources, and money, we will fare much better in the future. I advise you to use the Marshall Plan when this war is over, to do what is best for this country. Thank you.

Sources:

http://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/19/opinion/afghanistan-s-marshall-plan.html

http://www.aqoul.com/archives/2008/09/marshal_plan_vs.php

http://www.acus.org/new_atlanticist/marshall-plan-afghanistan

http://www.ntm-a.com/blog/2-categoryblog-general/837-the-marshall-plan-for-afghanistan?lang=

Semester Deux, Blog Eleven

"If you were President, how would you confront the multiple issues surrounding the Geneva Conventions that we have discussed in class over the past week?"

If I were President, I would reform Guantanamo Bay, so that the Geneva Conventions are being followed and no international or state laws are being questioned or broken. By keeping the location, but changing the rules, there would be no "not-in-my-backyard hysteria" that would happen with moving the inmates to a new location. If Guantanamo Bay was made into something more similar to a normal prison, the prisoners would have more rights, such as to a fair trial, but there wouldn't need to be any relocation.

Honors Blog Two

December 10^th, 1941

Dear Friend,

            I’m not sure how to feel. As you may have heard by now, three days ago, on December 7^th, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Being Nisei, I’m conflicted about the enemy, but this attack on my home state of Hawaii makes me want to fight back. I was set to be drafted, but, after these Japanese attacks, Japanese American men are categorized as enemy aliens! I still want to help my country, but I’m not sure how I’m going to go about it. I’ll let you know as soon as I figure out what I’m doing.

Signed,
a Soldier

March 23^rd, 1942

Dear Friend,

            Still no news on my plans for helping our country in this war, but I wanted to check up on you. I heard that the President just signed an Executive order that allows the government to move people at their discretion, and that Japanese Americans are being targeted. In fact, earlier this month, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt issued a military proclamation that ended with the forced removal of more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent on the West Coast! Are you okay? Have you been affected by this proclamation? Luckily, here in Hawaii, I don’t have to worry about such proclamations because over one-third of our population is Japanese. It would simply be impractical for our economy. Also, the War Department just called for the removal of all Japanese Soldiers from active duty. How am I supposed to help my country if I can’t fight for them?

Signed,
a Soldier

April 14^th, 1943

Dear Friend,

            Finally some good news! On February 1^st, the United States Government reversed its decision on not allowing those of Japanese descent to serve in the military. This was due the success of an experimental grouping of Japanese Americans who completed construction jobs during the war, first known as the Varsity Victory Volunteers, and now as the 100^th Infantry Battalion. The Government has even approved the formation of a Japanese American combat unit! I’m definitely interested in volunteering for this unit. Apparently, there is a lot of interest in it, especially from Hawaii. More than 75% of those interviewed indicated they would be willing to serve this country, and I’ve heard that nearly 10,000 Hawaiian men are planning to volunteer. Considering that the U.S. army is only calling for 1,500 Hawaiian men, I’m not sure how great my chances are of getting in. I’m going to try anyways! I’ll keep you updated on what happens.

Signed,
a Soldier

August 2^nd, 1944

Dear Friend,

            I know it’s been a while since I last mailed, but a lot has happened. Even better news than last time! I’ve been enlisted in the war, in the 442^nd infantry. Hawaii is such a proud state, that more Japanese Americans enlisted here than from the mainland, and so – in the end – there are 3000 Hawaiian men in this infantry, along with 800 from the mainland. We met up with the unit responsible for the creation of the 442^nd – the 100^th Infantry – and they joined us to create a larger unit. We’ve gotten our fight song from them – “Four-Forty-Second Infantry— We're the boys of Hawai'i nei— We'll fight for you And the Red, White and Blue, And go to the front... And back to Honolulu-lulu. Fighting for dear old Uncle Sam Go for broke! HOOH! We don't give a damn!We'll round up the Huns At the point of our guns, And vict'ry will be ours! GO FOR BROKE! FOUR-FOUR-TWO! GO FOR BROKE! FOUR-FOUR-TWO! And vict'ry will be ours!” Isn’t it inspiring? Our units went into battle together on the 26^th of June, in Belvedere, Vienna. We showed those Germans that we could hold our own! I’m feeling good about how our Infantry will fare during this war.

Signed,
a Soldier

January 3^rd, 1945

Dear Friend,

            The War is over. The Germans have been defeated. I’m amazed I lasted from start to finish in the 442^nd Infantry. Our initial group of 4,000 men had to be replaced 3.5 times – at the end, nearly 14,000 men served with us. Despite our relatively small size, our unit was the most decorated for its length of service. In total, our members were received 18,143  awards, including 21 Medals of Honor, 52 Distinguished Service Crosses, and 9,486 Purple Hearts. Our great work in the war led to a change of heart of many anti-Japanese critics in the U.S., and the release of our people. Unfortunately, much of the U.S. still haven’t changed their views on us, and it’s not easy. I came home to signs saying “No Japs Allowed”, and discrimination from many. Oh well. I’m proud of what I did in the war, and will have to just face what was waiting for me. Until next time.

Signed,
a Soldier

WW2 Imagery

• The USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on the day of the surrender of Japan, September 2, 1945.
• I found this image interesting because it really showed the extent of the war, and exhibited the use of military technology such as airplanes and boats.

• Created by Wesley in 1943, for the Office of War Information.
• I liked this piece of propaganda, because it was supposed to affect you emotionally, in order to prevent you from discussing was information. 

• African-American war bond volunteers, Pittsburgh, PA, circa 1944.
• I thought that this photo did a good job of capturing America during WW2, because it portrays the effort behind the war, of those who spent their time and energy supporting those at war.

Honors Novel Blog

 ‘We’, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, is a novel that was finished in 1921, that uses the author’s personal experience during the Russian Revolution of 1905, to portray a distant future. This future takes place after the ‘two hundred year’s war’, through which only .2% of the Earth’s population has survived. The book follows D-503 (all those living in this future are known only as numbers), who lives within the walls of the One State. The One State is where all numbers reside, under the Benefactor, who is the ruler of this world, and is re-elected unanimously every year. Everyone in this future is essentially brainwashed, where they comply with any rules or orders given to them by the One State, and anything done to the contrary leads to a public execution. Symbolically, everything is mathematical and precise. From their poetry to their music (“The crystalline chromatic measures of converging and diverging infinite series… What grandeur! What imperishable logic! And how pathetic the capricious music of the ancients, governed by nothing but wild fantasies…” as the main character describes) to their schedules and even their names, numbers and precision are important and necessary. All are even required to don uniforms. Their homes are clear, and privacy is nonexistent. The main theme of this book is of a dystopian future – this dictatorship that these numbers live with is not optional, and outside the green wall that holds them in is supposedly of an uninhabitable, post-apocalyptic world, left over from the ‘two hundred year’s war’. The main character, D-503, is the builder of the Integral – a spaceship intended to bring the kind of thinking of the One State to other distant planets, and to conquer them, as they have Earth.  However, things begin to go awry when D-503 begins to have dreams, and feels out-of-touch with the rest of the numbers. When he realizes he has a soul, he is distraught that he has caught this ‘sickness’. He compares this uncertainty to when he was a boy and first encountered the square root of negative one – “This irrational number had grown into me like something foreign, alien, terrifying. It devoured me – it was impossible to conceive, to render harmless, because it was outside ratio.” It’s once he has acquired this soul, and comes to term with it, that he is clued in to the rebellion at hand to bring down the Benefactor and the One State. After an attempt to seize control of the Integral, those in revolt are found out, and it is required that every number undergo ‘The Operation’. This operation is to destroy your imagination, so, as a result, “You are perfect. You are machinelike. The road to the one hundred per cent happiness is free. Hurry, then, everyone—old and young—hurry to submit to the Great Operation.” Although many attempts are made to avoid this operation, in the end D-503 is forced to undergo it. He wakes up rid of his sickness – free from his imagination – and ready to serve the One State.

Honors Blog One

High wages in America, in comparison to other countries, led to many foreigners, such as those from Britain and Germany, leaving their homes to work in America, so that they could be treated more fairly. These movements helped to give birth to the first labor unions in the United States of America. One early example of a union was Knights of St. Crispin, which formed in 1867, and gained 50,000 members in just three years, making it the largest of its kind in the country. These workers were against new, unskilled workers coming in to work machinery, thus taking away jobs from those who once did it by hand. Unfortunately, this union was unorganized and fell apart not too long after its creation. The Knights of St. Crispin gave way to the Knights of Labor, which came about in 1869. This group worked as a united front, seeking fairness for all laborers and producers. However, these Knights fell apart as well, when, during the Haymarket Riot of 1886, their strikes failed and were simply misunderstood and confused with bomb-making anarchists. 

From the ashes of the Knights rose a new union, in 1886 - the AFL (American Federation of Labor). Founded by Samuel Gompers, this group set the organizational example for years to come as a national federation of skilled workers' union. Their ranks grew steadily over the years, increasing from 200,000 and 1,750,000 members between 1886 and 1904. This popular group focused on the rights of skilled crafts workers, rather than that of industrial workers. With an opposing view, the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World), started in 1905, worked on industrial unionism. At most, this group contained 150,000 members, but faced such opposition during and after World War one, that many of its members were killed, and nearly 10,000 of them imprisoned.The IWW still exists today, with around 2,000 members, but had its main impact during its first fifteen years, during which it showed unskilled industrial workers that they could be organized, and gave them self-worth.

Despite the effects that it had on the IWW, World War One was a time during which unions grew drastically - the number of organized workers jumped from 2.75 million in 1917, to 4.25 million in 1919. The Wilson administration encouraged this growth of unions, as a way to energize the working class behind the war effort. To recognize the role laborers played in winning the war, the International Labor Organization was formed in 1919. Work conditions improved considerably, with the standard work day lowering to about eight hours a day, and the hourly wages rising. Similar things transpired during the second world war, when all labor unions supported the war effort. In 1947, the Taft-Hartley Act came about, which placed restrictions on both unions and managements. This act was a response to the postwar strikes that were said to have damaged the economy. Unions fought this change bitterly, because it prohibited unfair labor practices on their part, such as jurisdictional strikes. Strikes were a large part of acquiring the safety that unions give, and made great impacts. One important strike in history, for example, the Postal Worker's Strike, of 1970, consisted of  210,000 out of 750,000 postal workers striking, and Nixon having to declare a state of emergency. In the end, after two weeks of striking, the workers received many of the things they asked for.

Labor Unions are still alive today, as a way to protect workers from unfair treatment and work. However, union membership is becoming less popular, and has dropped 8% in recent years - bringing the percentage down to one not seen since 1932. While they are still active, people are seeming less interested, and striking has become nearly non-existant. Will unions die off soon, as workers become interested, and find it unnecessary? Only time will tell. 

Outstanding Ampersand Article Pitches

• http://tapandhthma.blogspot.com/

These pitches stood out to me, because they sound like actual pitches, not just thrown together ideas. Each article pitch seems solid and well thought-out, as well as interesting. The pitches seem unique, rather than just "my internship was at _________, and I did ______________.", and the pitches seem to contain some of the questions that he could use to drive his article, and so he has a good starting point for each of the three pitches.

• http://sasusakufan101.blogspot.com/

The pitches on this blog stood out to me, because the writer spent her internship as a teacher, as I did. So, these pitches gave me perspective on what I might want to do in my article, and I saw similarities between my pitches and hers. I think that all three pitches - how she grew during her internship as a teacher, how working with the students affected her, and she first had this experience as a student, and now as a teacher - are all well thought out, and would make a good article. 

• http://kgrant11thgrade.blogspot.com/

I think that the pitches on this blog were good, because all of the ideas were creative and stood on their own - there weren't any weak ideas. The pitches were unique, such as her first one, in which she proposed an article through an animal's perspective once they entered a veterinary hospital. The other article pitches, about describing a specific room or tool in detail, would also make good pieces of writing, because they aren't about your average internship experience. 

& Pitches

1) Use my mentor interview as my article. Expand my intro, add a conclusion, potentially go back and ask my mentor additional, supplementary questions.


2) Write an article about the differences between when I was in the classroom as a first grader, versus being there as a teacher. Discuss changes since then, as well as similarities.


3) Article about what I learned/gained from my internship - what the kids taught me, what my mentor taught me, and what I learned on m own from spending multiple weeks in a first grade classroom. Could be a regular article, or one that has an intro, conclusion, and bullet points or a numbered list in between.

Semester 2, Blog 4

http://www.paperarticles.com/2010/03/japan-confirms-cold-war-era-secret.html

This is an article that was once in a newspaper, and so the paragraphs are short in order to hold the reader’s attention – a technique that may be useful in my Ampersand article. This article on Japan also includes quotes, which gives the article more content, and I could find quotes for my article by looking through my Mentor Interview, or going back and asking further questions if necessary. Lastly, something I like about this article is that it provides many statistics and facts, which add some credibility to the article, versus just generalizing, which is something that I could do in my Ampersand article, based on the topic.

http://712educators.about.com/od/teacherresources/tp/teachergood.htm

I like this article because the layout is different, and has an encompassing theme. Instead of having multiple paragraphs about a general topic, the main theme/idea is stated outright, and the facts are given in bullet points. An article such as this could work as an article in ampersand, potentially, if an introduction/outro were added, and the bullet point section shrunk down. I think that if I could find a topic that led to a list of items, this could be a good type of article to write.

http://www.ehow.com/how_7834640_eliminate-land-pollution.html

This third article is a how-to article, which could be a type of article for Ampersand. This layout has a main idea that the reader will learn to do, which can be something super specific, like how to cook something, or generalized, like how to be a good teacher. If I could find a facet of my internship that is teach-able, either a basic or complex idea, I could use that as my Ampersand article. Additionally, I like this article because it is neat and organized, and includes pictures on the topic that is being discussed. 

Semester 2, Blog 3

http://www.interviewmagazine.com/blogs/culture/2011-02-03/michael-urie-angels-in-america/
- Has short, but informative introduction that introduces the interview subject and tells of their past and current achievements.
- Asks in-depth questions.
- Questions and answers have a conversational tone.
- The questions flow well.
- Only provides relevant information, doesn't go in-depth about personal history or background, focuses rather on occupation.




http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/elle-fanning/
- Provides quote from interview subject.
- Interviewer states when and where they met for the interview.
- Introduction is short, and contains relevant information regarding interview subject's career history and future plans.
- Interview contains questions about personal life and work.
- Interview has conversational tone.
- Doesn't really have a closing statement by the author.

Semester Two, Blog Two

Since last semester, I've read several books, and just recently started the book Impact, by Douglas Preston, all of which have been interesting. These books are interesting because they are examples of good writing, meaning they have good characters and plots, and hooks that pull you in. Although I have not gotten very far in it yet, I can tell that it will be a good novel just because of the way it starts off.

Semester 2, Blog 1

The big ideas that I am taking away from internship are just how the same skills are utilized both at school and in the workplace, and, as we used skills we had previously gained at school during internship, we can use newly gained skills from internship and apply them to the work we do at school. For example, although I had been required to be professional prior to my internship, being in a workplace for multiple weeks increased my professionalism, which can be used for future assignments and presentations. Similarly, during internship I became more patient, due to working with first graders on a daily basis, and that will help me in the future when preparing, or when trying to explain something to someone in a way they can understand. My plans for the next semester are to apply these skills I gained at internship to my everyday work, and continue to try the best at the work I complete.

Internship - Blog #7

5.  What advice would you pass on to future interns? What are the most important skills for a student to be successful at his/her internship? How could another student develop these skills prior to beginning internship? 

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If I can pass on one piece of advice to future interns, it would be to choose an internship that you think will be interesting and fun, not just any random one. If you choose something that doesn't really seem interesting, it may not be. However, if you spend some time looking for an internship site that suits you, you'll most likely have a better time at it. Additionally, it could be helpful to use previously-made connections to find your internship. For example, I ended up interning at an elementary school, and my mentor is a previous teacher of mine. You might have an easier time finding a mentor/internship if you talk to people you have previously worked with or been in contact with. I think that, in order to be successful at your internship, you just need to be on task and professional. Other skills may be needed, depending on the internship site, but as long as you act professionally, like would be expected at a work place, and stay focused and get everything accomplished, you'll be fine. These two skills could easily be developed prior to internship at school, simply by trying your best to get your work done and be professional during times such as Exhibition and POLs. 

Internship - Blog #6

5. Who benefits from the work that you do at internship? How and/or why?
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I think that the work I am doing at Alpine Elementary is beneficial to many, especially my mentor, Ms. Piper. Quite a bit of what I do, such as filing papers, or preparing homework packets, would normally be done by her, and so I am somewhat relieving her work load. Additionally, I help answer students' questions, or help them with their work, which they would normally be looking to Ms. Piper for. I also believe that my internship has been beneficial to the students, especially those who I am able to spend one-on-one time with. A few students who normally struggle with their work are now able to work in a separate, quieter  room, in which they are able to focus on their work and get help should they need it. Since I began working with them, one of them got their first 100% on a spelling test, which may be a result of the work I am doing with him. The last person who benefits from this work is me. By coming in everyday to a work environment, I am getting work experience which is definitely beneficial. 

Internship - Blog #5

3. You are half-way through your project. How is it going? What challenges have you faced? What have you learned? What are you doing to ensure a successful completion of your internship project.

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During my internship, I've worked on multiple smaller projects instead of one large one, and, so far, each one is going smoothly. One such project is working with a few of the lower level kids with their work, and spending additional time reading and playing games with them to ensure they are learning various vocabulary. One issue I faced in this project was that the bingo cards they played with were too small, and they completed the games far too quickly, and so a typed up a larger, 5x5 bingo card that would take them longer to finish. They seem to be benefiting from the help I am giving them, and, since the project is really open-ended, in order to ensure a successful completion of this project, I'm just going to keep working with them on a daily basis and watch the quality of their work improve.

Another project that I am working on is photographing the class throughout my stay, and, in the end, putting the images onto a CD for the kids to take home with them. I have finished taking the pictures at this point, and will begin sorting them into folders for each kid, and burn them onto the CDs. There haven't been many challenges in this project, except for making sure I get enough photos of each student. Because the little girls were so eager to be photographed and always had me taking pictures of them, I barely had any of the boys in the beginning. Eventually, I got more of the male students, and enough of them all to make a nice collection. I will know I have successfully completed this project when all of the CDs have been burned and labeled correctly.

A final project that I am working on is teaching the first graders how to use an iPod Touch. The school that I am interning at, Alpine Elementary, will soon be getting in a shipment of iPods that all of the classrooms will have access to, and so my mentor wants to make sure that her students understand how to properly use them. I have been teaching the students on my iPod Touch, and they have treated it very carefully and gently, which is better than I expected of them. They seem eager to get a chance to use it, and quickly learn what to do with it. The main challenge of this project has been finding free, grade-level-appropriate applications, that are both educational and easy to understand. I've gone through online databases trying to find apps that fall in that category, but still haven't been able to find many. Another challenge is choosing which apps for the students to use when I work with them, because they are all at different levels, and what's easy for one kid might me difficult for another. Like my first project, this is somewhat open-ended, but I feel that as long as I keep working with the students and make sure that they are understanding what I am teaching them, this will have been a successful project. 

Internship - Blog #4

4. How has or do you see your internship changing the way you consider that paths your future will take?

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Before this internship process, I had never really considered a future as a teacher, but, after just a few days at Alpine Elementary, it is actually something I could picture myself doing. Although it's not necessarily something I'mm planning on pursuing, it's definitely an option worth considering. So far, I have enjoyed the different aspects of working in a classroom, especially working with the kids. The class I'm in is made up of first graders, which seems to be a good age group to teach and work with. I knew I liked working with kids, but, had I not chosen an elementary school as my internship site, I may not have realized that I don't mind teaching.

Internship - Blog #3

7. What lessons or experiences at you internship will you bring back to school to help you to further improve in your academics?
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One thing that I believe I will be able to take away from my internship and apply to the work I complete in school is patience. Working with six-year-olds all day requires a lot of patience, just simply to make sure they understand everything and complete the tasks necessary. If I use this patience during school assignments, I think that I'd be able to do a better job, because I'd be less inclined to become frustrated if something were to go wrong. Additionally, I feel that, so far, my internship experience will have made me better at explaining things, and helping others with their work, which could definitely be of use during projects and such. Lastly, since one aspect of the project I am completing at Alpine Elementary is photographing the class, I will hopefully become better at that, as well as in Photoshop, which may come in handy for assignments later in the year.

First Week of Internship - Blog Two

7. What are you most surprised by during your first week of internship and why?

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I think that what I am most surprised by during my first week of internship is how much I am enjoying it. While I somewhat expected this experience to be boring, I find myself engaged throughout the day and the time seems to fly by. I have the freedom to choose what I want to do during the day, which keeps my tasks from becoming tedious. I have a friendly, helpful mentor, and am starting to make connections with the first graders she teaches. I figured in the beginning that I wouldn't mind this internship, but I am definitely surprised at just how satisfied I am with it.

First Week of Internship - Blog One

3. Describe the project you'll do at internship, including the skills and technology you need to do it and what you hope your project looks like as a final product.

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One project that I'm going to be working on during my internship at Alpine Elementary School is photographing the first grade class that I am working with. In addition to just helping out around the classroom, and working with small groups of children, I'll be taking pictures throughout my next three weeks. Towards the end of this process, I'll put these images onto discs for the students to take home, as well as one for the teacher, so that she has access to the images for when she puts together the children's' end-of-year books. In order to make the pictures I take look the best, I may have to use programs such as Photoshop, and I may end up putting them together with a program such as Windows Movie Maker. I hope that the final product of my work is a polished collection of photographs that capture the time I spent at my internship.