Dear Dads: Save Your Sons

The article I was assigned to read “Dear Dads: Save Your Sons” Talks about the difficulties a women has with her son not growing up with a male figure in his life. After counseling and numerous attempts to alter his behavior the mother in the article is hopeless. Being fifteen, in a gang, drinking, coming home days later, and not having any respect for elders is a sure sign of poor parenting and a missing father figure. This article show a lot of useful information on the subject but fail to mention anything about mothers “sexist.”  

This article made me mad/confused and brought back some old memories. My mom and dad had me at a young age and my dad left when I was two months old. I saw him very little growing up it was always mom and grandma. I had got in quite a bit of trouble as a teen and was in and out of court “with mom.” I dropped out of school when I was 16 and worked full time because I had my son to take care of. I made a lot of poor choices and never listened to my elders when I should have. I do not blame my dad for this however; I think he is a bad influence and a drunk.

I was confused reading this article because she starts the first couple of paragraphs making it sound like all dads that are not with their families are bad, then towards the middle switches it to a lot of the are good. I think she should talk about the moms a little bit more and not put so much on the dads. I have a friend who cannot see his daughter because his ex is mental and like the power trip and child support that she and her new boyfriend enjoy. That’s my thoughts, anyone have any feedback for me?

Shawn Opgaard

Rosa Parks

Rosa Parks started her lifelong goal by attending meetings in respects to NAACP which helped her to gain the confidence to speak up and take a stand. Rosa parks is known as the woman who would not move to the back of the bus. That set a bus boycott which lasted over a year and gave her the title of “mother of the civil rights movement.” Rosa spent over a decade with a local national association for the advancement of colored people.

After reading this article about Rosa Parks, I now have a much clearer picture of who she is and what she has done. Rosa Parks is a huge part of the black community and has been looked up to as one of the most respected women movement leaders of all time. She took charge, inspired people of all ages, and made a huge change which is still in the changing today. Rosa Parks who passed away on October 24^th 2005 will be missed but will still motivate people of all cultures and races worldwide.   

            I think beside Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks was a huge part of the black community and brought it to where it is at today. She gave strength, inspiration, and helped bring the black community to where it is at today. She was a great woman who helped many in need and gave hope to people who had none.

Shawn Opgaard

Gun Control

The article I chose the read http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/g/gun_control/index.html is explaining the different gun control laws passed by different presidents. Starting with Kennedy and Martin Luther King in 1968 and ending with Obama in 2012. Gun control is a touchy subject and brings a lot of mixed feeling to a lot of people. In 1994 president Bill Clinton passed the first bill to ban certain kinds of assault weapons and to require a background check before purchase.  In 2008 the Supreme Court ruled that the bill of rights include a guarantee of the people’s right to own a gun. I know this is a touchy subject and different people have a different look on the situation, but banning guns in my opinion will only cause more crime. I think a better screening, not selling full auto weapons, and a stricter standard of sale would be more beneficial than the total ban of weapons. Obama just stated he will try to pass the ban as soon as possible and allow illegals into our country, ha four more years of suffering.   

Phoebe Price

Phoebe Price was a 15 year old girl who committed suicide after months of being bullied and harassed by other students. The students bullied her at school, Facebook, and while she was walking home. In one of the incidents a girl threw a pop can at her. Even after she hung herself in her house they continued to bully her on Facebook. Numerous faculty members, teachers, and administrators at South Hadley High School even witnessed the physical abuse and did nothing to change it. Two males that were involved in the bulling and harassment received charges of statutory rape.

Bulling should not be accepted at schools or anywhere. Every day student are bullied and harassed at school, and I do not believe that schools are doing enough fair punishment to make it stop. I believe the school did not do enough to protect Phoebe Price from being bullied and harassed. I think it is very sad that this happen to students and that some teacher are aware of it and do nothing.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/phoebe-prince-south-hadley-high-school-new-girl-driven-suicide-teenage-cyber-bullies-article-1.165911#ixzz2KB7GpqkA