The Right Way to Study for You

With all of us in the midst of finals and the school year wrapping up, we would benefit from knowing the right way to study in order for us to achieve our full potential. Everyone has a different learning style and these specific style fall under three different categories; visual, auditory, kinesthetic.
Below are different ways to study for each category.

Visual Learners

•  Uses visual objects such as graphs, charts, pictures, and seeing information
•  Can read body language well and has a good perception of aesthetics
•  Able to memorize and recall various information
•  Tends to remember things that are written down
•  Learns better in lectures by watching them

Auditory Learners 

•  Retains information through hearing and speaking
• Often prefers to be told how to do things and then summarizes the main points out loud to help with memorization
• Notices different aspects of speaking
• Often has talents in music and may concentrate better with soft music playing in the background

Kinesthetic Learners 

•  Likes to use the hands-on approach to learn new material
• Is generally good in math and science
• Would rather demonstrate how to do something rather than verbally explain it
• Usually prefers group work more than others

California, Desperate for Water

The drought that plagues the state of California deeply affects the other regions of the United States. California has been known as "the bread basket of the world" because it provides a large amount of food which is grown in the central valley. For example, 90% of the world's almonds are grown in California. Therefore it is crucial that us locals conserve our natural resources through methods such as changing shower heads, fixing leaks, and taking shorter showers. I also believe that in order for California to remain a leading producer of produce that it is necessary for the US government to take action in finding a solution to our lack of H2O. For example, by finding a cheaper way to desalinize ocean water or commandeering water from other states in order to provide California with sufficient water resources to continue growing food. 

Check out this article which states different ways to preserve water in your house.

http://eartheasy.com/live_water_saving.htm 

Tips for Senior Year

With the school year coming to a close and a new one around the corner, I think it is prominent to know how to prepare for your senior year so you can be successful. An article I read on Huffington Post called "10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before Senior Year of Highschool" listed numerous things to check off your to do list. A tip I personally connected with was #8 which talks about the necessity of mental health days. Many times this year when school work seemed like an unclimbable mountain of doom, I would often take a day off from school to finish up all of my work instead of attending class. Although risky, this method has allowed me to remain sane and get my work done in order to be present when I attend school.

Check out the article below!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/15/10-things-i-wish-i-had-known-before-senior-year_n_3763882.html

11 year old with 3 Degrees

Tanishq Abraham was born in Sacramento, California in 2003. According to his Wikipedia page, he was 5 years old when he completed the math courses in five grades (kindergarten to 4th grade) at Stanford's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY) in less than 6 months.  He graduated high school in 2014 and had just graduated from American River College last Wednesday, May 20, with 3 associate college degrees.

Tanishq and his sister, Tiara, are among the youngest member of MENSA, the largest and oldest high-IQ society in the world.

Read more about him here

Blended Sentencing

Recently my friend showed me an interesting proposal advocating for blended sentencing, which is thought to be a more effective method for rehabilitating juvenile offenders. Blended sentencing allows juvenile offenders to be subject to juvenile or adult sanctions, depending on the severity of the crime and the offender's maturity. In some cases, the offender is levied adult and juvenile sentences simultaneously, but can have the adult sentence revoked through good behavior. In other cases, the juvenile sentence is served until the offender reaches a certain age, when he or she is transfered to an adult facility and begins serving the adult sentence.

The idea behind this is to give juvenile offenders a chance to reduce their punishment. They are evaluated before receiving an adult sentence, which could be much harsher than a juvenile one, and given opportunities to appeal. This method has been found to reduce recidivism (relapse into criminal behavior) in youth, since it re-evaluates the offender before condemning him or her to a potentially life-long sentence.

Only about half of the states use blended sentencing, but I think it should be adopted nationwide. Juvenile offenders should be given a chance to show their growth and maturity, and letting them know that their future doesn't have to be prison can be a great motivator for them to change their behavior.

What do you all think about blended sentencing, or dealing with juvenile offenders in general?

Should the FDA Regulate Cosmetics?

The Federal Drug Administration was created initially to protect consumers from harmful carcinogens and contaminants that companies could sneak into their products. However, the FDA does nothing to regulate cosmetics and instead has left the industry to "self-regulate." As a consequence, the closest thing to oversight over cosmetic companies is the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, an organization to which submitting cosmetics is entirely option. This means that bad products often make it to the shelves, and once they're there, are impossible to recall.

It makes sense to try and let a market regulate itself. Many argue that consumers will simply stop buying harmful products and subsequently make the production of those products economically infeasible. However, consumers are often left blind to long lasting harmful side effects. Harmful chemicals that form as a result when common ingredients react after being mixed in don't need to be disclosed on labels. Mercury is allowed in mascara.

The final question we're left with involves the extent of government involvement that should be introduced. Should the FDA be able to recall products once they're on the shelves. Should they get involved before then? Should they be involved at all?

Baltimore Protests

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident sustained injuries following his arrest. Gray sustained a coma and Baltimore residents protested in front of the Western district police station. Then on May 1, 2015, Gray's death was ruled to be homicide and legal charges were issued against the six officers involved in the incident, including that of second-degree murder. After Gray's death was announced, numerous protests erupted throughout baltimore. On April 25, 2015, protests were organized in downtown Baltimore. Protesters marched from the Baltimore City Hall to Inner Harbor. After the final stage of the official protest event, some people became violent and damaged at least five police vehicles, and pelted police with rocks. During a press conference, Baltimore mayor Stephanie said most protesters were respectful but a "small group of agitators intervened". She also stated that "It’s a very delicate balancing act. Because while we try to make sure that they were protected from the cars and other things that were going on, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. And we worked very hard to keep that balance and to put ourselves in the best position to de-escalate."The phrase "we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well" was interpreted by some conservative-leaning news sources as an indication that the mayor was giving permission to protesters to destroy property, while some others, including Breitbart News Network, pointed out that "when you look at the full context, it’s clear the Mayor meant something different (though it’s also true she didn’t say it very clearly)."

http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2015/04/27/updates-from-baltimore-riots/YuKFLrjt8PnLWWCDbhkVDJ/story.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Baltimore_protests

Should the United States Build a National Aqueduct?

The California drought has been a large point of contention recently. Agriculture is often criticized for using a disproportionate amount of water (almonds use 11% of the state's water while major cities use about 20%). But in a country where one parched state produces a sizable majority of the nation's produce, completely halting agricultural production is not an option. Below is a short piece I wrote attempting to justify the controversial construction of an aqueduct from Alaska to Mt. Shasta that would allow Alaska, Oregon, and Washington state to sell their water to California. The justification was written in an attempt to instigate debate, and I would really appreciate if you guys would comment any arguments in favor of or opposed to this infrastructure project!

America's agricultural system is designed in such a way that forces us to depend disproportionately on certain sectors. Notably, California is home to 4% of the nation's ranches, and, yet, produces more than 13% of the nation's food, and a sizable majority of our produce. In recent years, as the Californian drought continues to worsen, the sustainability of this system needs to be challenged. Without access to environmentally responsible resources to grow food, Californian farms often turn to unsound sources. Extracting around 800 billion gallons of groundwater a year, the California agricultural sector has caused the land to subside by two feet and the water table by 500. Continuously decreasing snowfall levels mean that the state cannot continue to serve as the nation's breadbasket if it does not have the resources to do so.

The construction of an aqueduct spanning from the southern Alaskan islands to Lake Shasta is a drastic, but essential, step that needs to be taken to support the way America's food production is currently structured. If the nation wishes to continue reaping the rewards of such expansive agricultural production in the state of California, we need to ensure that the proper infrastructure exists to do so.

Do We Need To Fix American Perception Worldwide?

It's no secret that many parts of the world disapprove of the United States. The question that remains is why. There's a large difference between having an accurate understanding of what the United States stands for and disliking its principles and being misinformed. A friend of mine has taken it upon himself recently to argue for reinstating a branch of the government found archaic after the Cold War ended whose sole purpose was to promote America's brand worldwide.

The United States Information Agency was established "to understand, inform and influence foreign publics in promotion of the national interest, and to broaden the dialogue between Americans and U.S. institutions, and their counterparts abroad.” Many argue that in the twenty first century, we fight less wars based on territory and more based on ideology. So what greater weapon do we have than an information agency that effectively portrays America in a favorable light?

Critics of the agency have other things to say. Many argue that such propaganda is inappropriate in such a day and age and that the United States should not have to resort to tactics often used by countries we view as "shady" or "illegitimate".

The question remains - what methods do you think the United States should use to promote its image worldwide?

The Science of Bagels

I thought it would be helpful to write about something a little more lighthearted than stress or current events - bagels.

I'd say about 9 out of 10 school days, I bring a bagel with cream cheese and sometimes lox to first period for breakfast. I am a bagel fanatic. Whenever we would visit my mother's family in NYC when I was younger, the only thing that would get me through the seemingly everlasting flight was the promise of East Coast bagels. So I was personally thrilled when I saw that NPR's Maria Godoy had reported a story on what makes New York bagels so good.

The secret? It's in the boiling. The American Chemical Society found that the idea that New York bagels are so delicious because of their water is actually largely untrue. What makes a NY bagel so good is first the refrigeration that slows the yeast in the dough, which allows for fermentation that results in more delicious bagels. The boiling process then contributes its own effects to the taste and texture of the bagels, must like freeze flashing a steak.

So, if you ever want to make your own bagels, be sure to stick them in the fridge and then boil them. It'll feel like you're in New York!

Ditching School?

With all the talks we've been having recently about the effects of stress and parenting styles on students, I thought I'd summarize a story recently covered by NPR titled "How Do You Motivate Kids To Stop Skipping School?

The article discusses how a recent study demonstrated that oftentimes, providing incentives to attend school is counterproductive. The study looked at 799 boys and girls in an impoverished part of India who were part of an altruistic program that, despite providing a significantly higher quality education than other programs, finds itself with the same attendance rate.

The program tried to provide an incentive - those who showed up 32 out of 38 days would receive two pencils and an eraser. Initially, attendance rates improved. However, as time went on and the reward period was concluded, attendance rates went back to normal. With kids who didn't qualify for the reward, the attendance level actually decreased to a point lower than where it was before incentives were introduced.

The summary NPR provided concluded that failing these types of challenges are disheartening. What do you think?

Iconic Photos in US History

Great Depression

World War II

 Flag Raising at Iwo Jima
This is probably the most iconic photo in American history to date. It captures the American spirit perfectly, with the American people working together to reach a common goal. The photograph is also very symbolic because it shows the prevalence of American ideals even amidst all the rubble and chaos.

 New York's Penn Station (1944)

 Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (June 1942)

 Members of the U.S. Army Air Corps's legendary 99th Pursuit Squadron, the Tuskegee Airmen (1942)

Selma (March 7, 1965)

Vietnam War (1964 - 1975)

 The Saigon Execution (Feb 1, 1968)

 Kent State Protest (May 4, 1970)

*Selma and the Kent State Protest reflect the violence of police brutality amidst the confusion of war.

9/11

Flag Raising at the World Trade Center

 The Falling Man 

*While the flag raising reflects hope, the falling man reflects hopelessness.  These two photographs capture the two prevailing moods during the aftermath of 9/11.

Sources: 
Wikimedia Foundation

Clinton Email Scandal

Hi everyone! If you've been following the news the past few months, you may have noticed that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has been criticized recently for her use of a private email in her time in the State Department. The main issue was that, by using a private email,  she didn't need to release her emails to the public.

Today, the State Department released 296 emails sent by Secretary Clinton in her time in the State Department.

The department stated that the first set of emails released would be given to the House Select Committee on Benghazi, which talk mostly about the attack on the facility that has often been a focal point of the criticism surrounding Clinton. Many argue that this latest email scandal plays into Clinton's reputation as being seemingly above the rules. The Committee on Benghazi has stated, "The emails we release today do not change the essential facts or out understanding of the events before, during, or after the attacks, which have been known since the independent Accountability Review Board report on the Benghazi attacks was released almost two and a half years ago."

The question now remains - can Clinton shed her reputation as seeming high and mighty and above the rules by which al others abide, or are these emails only the most recent unfolding that uphold such a portrayal?

Dealing with Stress

Hey guys! I found this website to share with your parents to help with coping with school-related pressure and stress:

Click Me!

Elephant Mom

I found this article on elephant parents. Elephant parents are the complete opposite of tiger parents. Your parents do everything for you and instead of putting the pressure on you, they try to take away the pressure. It's more like being a mommy's boy. You can't survive in life without your parents. This can be bad because if you rely on your parents to much, you won't be prepared for life. Meaning when you go off to college or make your own independent choices, you can't always rely on your parents to make the choices for you. This article also talks about the comparisons between a tiger mom and elephant mom. Now going to my parents, my dad is a tiger dad and my mom is a elephant mom. It's funny because when I need something I always go to my mom. And this causes a lot of conflicts because my dad hates buying knick knacks, or anything fancy because he thinks it's completely useless. This link tells the difference between a tiger parents and elephant parents.

http://www.healthywomen.org/content/blog-entry/are-you-elephant-mom-or-tiger-mom

Ruth Bader Ginsburg

A while ago, I wrote a post about Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the somewhat cult following she's accumulated amongst liberals. In the time since I've posted the original piece, the've made an announcement in how the media is beginning to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg's legacy: there is an upcoming biopic starring Natalie Portman about the Justice's life.

"On The Basis Of Sex" will detail Ginsburg's attempts to alleviate gender-based discrimination in the legal field. Many have criticized the movie for its obviously liberal slant, saying, "Hollywood really doesn’t hide its bias well, when no producer or director seems to have any interest in making a film about a conservative First Lady or Supreme Court Justice."

Ginsburg is the Court's first Jewish female Justice, an accolade that's been hinted to be the center focus of "On the Basis of Sex". 

The film is supposed to be released sometime in 2015. Who's in?

A Day in the Life of Amy Chua

Summer Break
6:30 am - Amy wakes up to the family dogs, Coco and Pushkin, licking her chin.
"Dogs are so much nicer than daughters.  Sophia and Lulu, now somehow 22 and 19, are going back to college tomorrow. They've been home for almost a month, and frankly, we've had some rocky moments." 

Amy looks on as her daughter, Sophia, practices piano (top). Lulu plays the violin (bottom).                                        

11:00 am - Amy has graded 10 exams, wrote three letters of recommendation, and blurbed a book.

12:00 pm - Amy unloads the dishwasher

1:00 pm - Amy wakes up her daughters
"Gently reminded them that they had to start packing. And do their own laundry, because it was ridiculous in this day and age that a woman with a career like me still had to do all the housework.  Deeply moved by my own words." 

"Asked Lulu why she had to waste $3.49 on a Dunkin' Donuts coffee when we have perfectly good coffee at home and when $3.49 would have fed my whole family for a month when I was growing up." 

"Discovered that Sophia got a tattoo.  She tried to hide it from me, but I spotted it.  Instead of going ballistic like I have in the past, I was very reasonable.  I told Sophia that I was glad she had at least chosen a physics symbol (a light cone) and that I would pay for its removal.  I'll have to hide this from my parents."

"I wish I'd made their stay more fun.  What if they don't want to come home again?" 

Spring Term
6:30 am - Wake up
10:00 - 12:00 am - Amy attends a meeting
12:00 - 2:00 pm -  Amy attends another meeting
2:00 - 6:00 pm - Amy holds marathon office hours
6:30 pm - Amy hosts dinner for a student organization
8:00 pm - Amy plays tennis and runs with her dogs, Coco and Pushkin

9:00 pm - Amy meets some research assistants for drinks

"Self control, discipline, resilience. I got that from my parents." 

 Amy Chua with her husband, Jed Rubenfield

Source:
http://www.wsj.com/articles/a-week-in-the-life-of-the-tiger-mother-amy-chua-1422632082

Amy Chua: The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Understanding the tiger mom culture is hard for us kids. Amy Chua's The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother embodies what makes the concept of being a tiger mom rewarding. This book also served as a therapeutic outlet for her to vent when she felt her her control over her daughter slacking. It's not a guide for would-be tiger moms, but a memoir filled with her stories about the experiences she had being one and living under one when she was younger. She points out that while her parenting is not the best model, she believes parents in America could push their kids to achieve more to unlock their potential, as cliche as that sounds.

Link to her book

A helpful site for 2016 primaries

Website is: http://www.ontheissues.org/default.htm

I have found a website which may help you choose your presidential candidate. It shows those running for the GOP, Democratic and independent primaries. A very helpful and simple to read page on every candidate shows what they believe, from topics like environment to principles and values. It makes it so much easier to decide whether or not the candidate is right for you. Although it is a quick overview and I recommend looking more into the candidate as some of the information may be outdated such as some sources are from the early 2000’s or 1990’s and they may not believe that anymore. But the site keeps the candidates updated with the most recent sources on the top of the list and goes down chronologically from what they said in the past on a certain topic. The site also tries to be unbiased so it won’t make one candidate more appealing than the other. I think the site is very helpful for those who haven’t decided which candidate to pick yet and is a great tool in beginning the search for one. It is the easiest and simplest site I've seen which provides information to do so. Again, I highly recommend this for looking at the quick overviews on the candidate's beliefs and as a starter for research on said candidate, they could have different opinions from something they have said years ago.

Which parent do you think you would appreciate most?

Talking about all the different parents, I am wondering which parent people would appreciate the most. For this question, think about whether the outcomes overweight the costs such as in a tiger mom, or if they don't.
Also, don't look at the word "appreciate" as in you feelings, look at it in the overall scheme of your early life.

For me, I would most rather have a tiger mom when I am in middle school, and then have my parents ease off as I entered high school (I don't have tiger parents, but they are pretty strict). This is because, early on I think it is important to get your child to understand the importance of grades, but later, I would prefer less monitoring of my schoolwork by my parents because it will help me become more individualistic earlier and give me an advantage in college, where I will be responsible to do everything on my own, without parental help or guidance.

What would you guys pick?

Effect of the Tiger Mom

With the discussion in class today and the ongoing discussion on the blog about "tiger moms", I thought it would be interesting to instead of looking into the parenting style itself, but the effect that it has on the children.  The intense parenting style definitely can help lead a child in the right direction by pushing them towards things that will make them more successful in life such as good academics, involvement in clubs, and more.  However, even if the child succeeds in these different aspects, it can greatly effect the child emotionally.  According to Huffington Post, high achieving Chinese Americans have a much higher stress level and lower self esteem than their European-American counterparts.  This is due to the different parenting styles employed by the cultures, and the different standards.  Many tiger moms, including my own mom, try to set very high standards for their kids, sometimes seemingly impossible, in order for their child to do the best they can.  Not only is it difficult for children to always be meeting these expectations, when they fail it can also significantly damage their self esteem.  In Amy Chua's Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, at one point she talks about how she forced her seven year old daughter to sit infront of the piano until she mastered a song.  Not only is mastering a song difficult for a seven year old, the expectation placed upon her by her mother can really only damage her self confidence after she repeatedly fails over and over again to try and meet the task.

A study done by Desiree Qin also highlighted the effects of the tiger mom parenting style on Chinese Americans.  Qin surveyed roughly 500 freshmen, 300 asian and 200 white.  The questions mostly highlighted family relationships and cohesion, and the results came in as expected.  Most of the students talked about how they constantly faced conflicts within their family, mostly over grades and how their family lacked cohesion.

Although controversial, the tiger mom parenting method is quite successful on paper.  Students on average seem to get better grades, get into better schools, and appear as the people that many strive to be.  However, although those who have tiger parents may seem to have the perfect college application does not mean that they are quite as perfect as they seem, most importantly in the mental aspect.

More on Tiger Moms!!

Our current debate about styles of parenting has spurred me to do some more research about different angles on this issue. I found an article (http://www.slate.com/articles/double_x/doublex/2013/05/_tiger_mom_study_shows_the_parenting_method_doesn_t_work.html) on Slate called "Poor Little Tiger Cub," which describes a study that seemed to show that children of "tiger parents" actually performed at lower levels and were depressed at higher rates than children of more supportive parents. Personally, I think data can probably be manipulated in favor of either side, but it seems like studies on this topic regardless of bias fail to measure an extremely important part of childhood growth: emotional intelligence. I think it's possible that even if tiger parenting does produce higher grades and test scores, these kids might not have the opportunity to experience a relationship of support, compromise, and give and take with their parents and may not be fully equipped to have such healthy relationships in the future. There is a lot of focus on the different ways to raise children to be academically successful, but I think it's crucial not to forget about the other equally important aspects of a child's growth and development that should not be compromised.

Political Messages of Dr. Seuss

When we think of Dr. Seuss books we think of silly, random books that we have read when we were little kids. However, in some of Dr. Seuss's books, he makes clear implications of a political message. In two books of Dr.Seuss: Yertle the Turtle and The Butter Battle Book, Dr. Seuss writes symbolically about the rise and decline of Hitler and the Cold War.

One of Dr. Seuss's books that contains a political message is Yertle the Turtle. In the book a turtle king, Yertle, is tired of his short stone throne, so he makes other turtles stack beneath him so he can be taller. The turtle at the bottom of the stack, Mack, asks Yertle if he can rest because the heavy weight displaced on him by the other turtles on top of him is giving him pain. Yertle doesn't allow Mack any rest. As the moon comes up, Yertle is mad that something can be higher than him, so he orders more turtles to add to the stack of turtles beneath him. At the end of the book, Mack decides he has had enough and he burps causing the the stack of turtles to fall, and causing Yertle to fall.

Suess has said that this book is supposed to represent Hitler's regime and is downfall. Yertle represents Hitler. In the book, Yertle wants to be higher and higher and wouldn't be satisfied until he is higher than the moon. This connects to Hitler and how although he had a lot of power after conquering Poland and Czechoslovakia, he wanted more and more power so he attacked France.

The Butter Battle Book is another Dr. Seuss book that contains political messages. In this book, two groups of people, the Yooks and the Zooks disagree on which side to butter their bread. The Yooks believe that butter should be spread on the top of the bread, the Zooks believe that butter should be spread on the bottom of the bread. This disagreement leads to distrust with each other and an arms-race. A wall separates the Yooks and the Zooks. As the Yooks build more and more advanced weapons, the Zook's seem to build either a more advanced weapon or match the Zook's weapon. At the very end, the Yook's weapon, "The Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroo" becomes so deadly that it can completely wipe out the Zook's country. However, the Zooks manage to build another bomb that can wipe out the Yook's settlement. The very end of the book is an image of a Yook holding a bomb out on the Zook side of the wall and a Zook holding a bomb out on the Yook side of the wall.

The Butter Battle Book is a clear indication of the Cold War. The blue uniforms of the Yooks represent America's color and the red color of the Zooks represent the Soviet color. The wall separating the Yooks and the Zooks represents the Iron Curtain. By the end of the book, when each side has developed a weapon that can destroy the other, this is an indication of MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) during the Cold War. Just like in the book, America and the Soviets in the 1980's had enough nuclear warheads to completely destroy the other, so they were putting each other at gunpoint to mutually assure each other's destruction if one attacks the other. The message in The Butter Battle Book  is that "the arms race could be avoided if the trivial misunderstanding of which side of bread is to be buttered, could be let go, which would lead to each side not needing to increase the power of its arsenal."

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yertle_the_Turtle_and_Other_Stories
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_messages_of_Dr._Seuss
Yertle the Turtle Pic: http://prairieweather.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451c34d69e2014e89d1748e970d-pi
The Butter Battle Book Pic: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/19/df/3b/19df3b54c0083797dec14adc7844bf8c.jpg

Baseball During World War II

World War II had a significant effect on nearly everybody in the world.  It effected countries economically, politically, and also significantly changed the lives of the people living within the countries.  As more and more men were sent off to fight overseas, the baseball scene in America rapidly changed.  Many of the star studded players like Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Grove, and more all enlisted.  Also, in order to fill the void of the men going off to fight, a women's baseball league formed.

As the tensions in Europe and the Pacific rose, President Roosevelt enacted the Selective Training and Service Act in order to reinforce the American military.  The act required all men between ages 21 and 36 to enlist in the army to "ensure the the independence and freedom of the United States".  After all was done, more than 2 million men were enlisted.  With this, the game of baseball changed as many of the top players were drafted.  Once American involvement truly began after Pearl Harbor was bombed and Germany declared war on the United States, over 500 Major League baseball players enlisted.  Not only did the war have an effect on the Major Leagues, but also significantly damaged the minor league system.  Before war broke out, 44 minor league systems existed, but after a measly 12 remained.

Once all the men left the United States to go to battle, the women did a great job filling the void that they left.  Many got jobs at factories to create tanks, planes, and more war equipment.  However, a select few women went out to go play baseball.  The All-American Girls Professional League was founded in 1946 with over 600 active women playing up until 1954.  The main point of the league was for Major League team owners to keep interest in baseball while the men were away fighting.  The sport that the women played was not exactly baseball, but much more similar to modern day softball.  They used a larger ball, smaller field, and a shorter mound distance than baseball.  If you want to learn more about women's baseball during World War II, the movie A League of Their Own, does a great job elaborating on the lives and the struggles the women went through during the period.

Source: http://www.baseballinwartime.com/baseball_in_wwii/baseball_in_wwii.htm

The Four Types of Parents

Parenting has been a major topic of discussion in class recently so I wanted to provide clear examples of the types of parenting. Of course there can be variations between the groupings, but here are the general types:

1. Authoritative
- Authoritative is considered the most effective style of parenting
- These parents have high expectations but also balance that quality with empathy
- Requires open communication
- Believed to create the most healthy childhood environment

2. Neglectful
- Considered one of the more harmful parenting styles
- They do not tend to their child's emotional or physical needs
- Parent's are barely involved in the child's life
- Damaging to the parent-child relationship because no bond or trust is formed

3. Permissive
- This style of parenting is considered potentially harmful
- Parents would be responsive to the child but not highly involved
- Parents tend to be very nurturing and loving
- Cons consist of inconsistent rule system and lack of discipline
- No pre-thought to avoid conflict with their children

4. Authoritarian
- Demanding but non-responsive parents
- Very small area of compassion and empathy
- Strict rules
- Potential to damage child socially

Source:
https://my.vanderbilt.edu/developmentalpsychologyblog/2013/12/types-of-parenting-styles-and-how-to-identify-yours/

About API Scores

In the spirit of SBAC testing and everyone talking about how it will affect our school's API (Academic Performance Index) score, I thought I would look into what API scores actually are and how they're calculated! The article I found talks about how they measure not only school performance but also improvement over time, by scoring based on the difference in test scores from year to year. A school's API score can range from 200 to 1000, and the statewide goal for all schools is to reach or surpass a score of 800. It is calculated using CAHSEE and STAR (now SBAC) scores for the student body as a whole, but there are also separate API scores for different racial groups. Los Altos's current 3-year average API score is 886. This number is used to rank schools in the state. I was unable to find specific information about how it is actually mathematically calculated from the student test scores--does anyone know?

Links:
CA Govt publication about API: http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/documents/apiexecsummary.pdf
Article I mentioned: http://www.greatschools.org/gk/articles/the-api-10-things-parents-should-know/

High School Stress - Winning the Battle

Recently, in class, we have spent a lot of time discussing stress as a student, parenting styles, and college admissions. One topic I deal with personally, and to a great extent, is stress. The effect of stress on our own lives depends upon many factors. The type of people we are, the situations we get stuck in, and the parents we have can all attribute to how we manage and experience stress. Some people can naturally handle stress and I get that. But then, there are those of us procrastinators who get ourselves into a lot messes, there are high school students, and then there are those of you struggling from things I probably couldn't imagine. 

There is a lot of controversy over the main cause of stress in the lives of students and many assume that the answer is as simple as "school." Eureka! That's it! We found the problem guys! Or have we really? Can school really be the only source of all of our stress? 

Stress can spawn from many places, including the people around us, especially our peers and our families. School can sometimes be seen as one big competition. "Yeah all of my classes are AP next year, so what? How many are you taking?" The desire to compete with our classmates is extremely common. It comes from the idea that if other people who can handle the stress of multiple high-demand classes, why can't everyone else? We have to be able to stand out if we want to go to a decent college that good old mom and dad picked out for you. And if your parent(s) got into Stanford, why can't you?

Yeah, I know, there's not much we can do to control our environment and the people around us. That stress will always be there. But finding a way to manage the stress of these issues is the real key. You don't have to make these problems disappear, but you can make the burden of stress less prominent. 

Tips:

• Be organized
• Prioritize
• Live a healthy life
• Practice self-control

Don't try to control your environment, at home or at school. Learn to control the way your environment affects you.

Sources:

http://www.studypoint.com/ed/school-stres/

Upcoming uncommon (sort of) holidays

Yes, Memorial Day is impending and marks the near beginning of summer, but there are other less known holidays and observances that will be celebrated in certain parts of the US. The most common in the South is former Confederate president Jefferson Davis' birthday. Funnily enough, the South can't seem to get the exact date; Mississippi thinks it's May 25, while Alabama celebrates it as a state holiday on June 1, and Florida observes it on June 3.

On a more global note, June 6 marks the 71st anniversary of the D-day landing on the beaches of Normandy during WWII. Last year, crowds of still surviving veterans lined the English Channel in observance of the important date. In a couple of years, maybe even on the 75th anniversary, many of these veterans most likely will have passed away. If you are interested, try to get in touch with local veterans and dig a little deeper into their stories. We've probably read several novels/biographies concerning WWII, like Unbroken and Code Name Verity, but it's always much more touching when you get the real deal. (shameless advertising: Talon did a WWII veteran spread in the magazine, check it out if you want to find a few local veterans)

Dates from: http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/us/

The Spruce Goose

The Spruce Goose was the largest airplane ever constructed. It holds a special place in my family because my great uncle worked on the project with Howard Hughes, founder of Hughes Aircraft Company.Officially called the Hughes H-4 Hercules Aircraft the press coined the term "spruce goose" because it was almost entirely constructed of wood(birch actually, not spruce but the name stuck), due to restrictions upon materials made by the government during the wartime and weight efficiency. It could float and took off from the water.  Six times as large as any aircraft of the time, it was intended for use as a transport aircraft for transatlantic flight to counteract ships being sunk by submarines but unfortunately it was not completed in time to be of any practical use.  The Spruce Goose only made a single flight on November 2, 1947. Power lines had to be cut to admit the gargantuan plane into the city, where its historic flight was made only over a span of a mile for one minute, at an altitude of only 70 feet, but he test was mainly done to eliminate skepticism about whether it would fly. The plane serves as a symbol of what Americans could do, and a symbol of industrial capacity. It was kept in a climate controlled area for 33 years, passed down between various aviation clubs and corporations until it was disassembled and reassembled in a proper home at the Evergreen Museum in Oregon for the flying boat.  There has been an over dramatized movie made about it as well if anyone is interested.

Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWTk0Uflyk8
http://evergreenmuseum.org/the-museum/aircraft-exhibits/the-spruce-goose/

National Police Week

I don't know how many of you were aware that last week was national police week. President Kennedy designated Police Week as the week of May 15th in 1962 to pay special recognition to law enforcement officers who lost their lives for the safety and protection of others. Every year, thousands of officers gather in Washington DC to discuss public safety and take time to remember those who have been killed in the line of duty. http://www.policeweek.org/
We lost 273 law enforcement officers this year.
The week holds extra significance this year, with the Ferguson cases being so big in the news.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32699802 has a video about the negative attention the police officers have been receiving in the media, when they are really just everyday people trying to do their jobs and go home to their families. Officer Tomii Finkle says there are 1%, maybe 2% bad cops to 98% good caring compassionate cops. How accurate do you think his estimate is?

A Cheat Sheet to AP Gov

As the year is ending, we have to start thinking about our next year's history class which is going to be either AP or regular government and politics. Since USHAP covers supreme court cases which we are going to be learning next year in AP GOV, I am compiling a list and descriptions of some of the most important supreme court cases in United States History. Hopefully this list will provide a good background to Gov which we will take next year.

Marbury v. Madison (1803):
The case began in 1801 when John Adams assigned Marbury as a justice of the peace. When Jefferson won the election in 1804, he told his Secretary of State, James Madison, to refuse Marbury's appointment to justice of the peace. When Madison did as he was told, Marbury sued and the case was taken to the Supreme Court. Chief Justice, John Marshall ruled in Marbury's favor, however the more significant aspect of this case is how he made his decision. Marshall used the first incident of judicial review by declaring the Judiciary Act of 1789 unconstitutional. This was the first time in U.S. history that the Supreme Court declared something unconstitutional and it paved the way to the judiciary becoming an equal branch with the Legislative and Executive branches.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857):
Dred Scott, a slave, had travelled to the free state of Illinois and free territories of Wisconsin while serving his Sandford. When Sandford died, Scott sued his wife who had continued to keep him in bondage, on the basis that he had travelled into free land and therefore he should be freed from slavery. Once the case got up to the Supreme Court, the ruling stated that regardless or not if Scott had travelled into free territory, he was born a slave and was therefore property. The chief justice, Taney argued that since Sandford had a right to own her property, Scott must remain a slave. The justices then argreed that since Scott is a slave, he can't be a citizen and thus cannot sue someone in court. This decision was important because it increased tensions between the north and south on the legality of slavery and undeniably led to the outbreak of the Civil War.

Plessy v. Ferguson (1896):
Little did you know that Rosa Parks wasn't the first person to sit in a "white's only" section of a transportation vehicle. Homer Plessy in 1896 challenged Louisiana's Separate Car Act which segregated whites and blacks on different railcars, by sitting in the "white's only" railcar. Plessy was arrested and the case went to the Supreme Court. The court ruled that separate but equal facilities for whites and blacks are constitutional due to the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. This decision was very important because it started off the Jim Crow movement towards segregation.


Brown v. Board of Education (1954):
This case began as a result of multiple black children being denied to schools that only accepted white students in southern states such as Virginia, Kansas, and South Carolina. The big question that came up in this case was: "Is segregation of children into separate but equal" public schools constitutional?" The court ruled that "the separation of students in separate but equal public schools violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and is unconstitutional." This decision turned out to be the exact opposite of that in Plessy v Ferguson. In Plessy v Ferguson the court used the Equal Protection Clause to declare segregation constitutional and in Brown v Board of Education, the court used the Equal Protection Clause to declare segregation unconstitutional. This case was very important because it helped facilitate the Civil Rights Movement and further the movement to integrate blacks and whites.



Roe v. Wade (1973):
In Texas, in 1973, it was illegal for a woman to have an abortion unless if she was in danger of dying. Jane Roe, a Texas mother, changed that. Roe claimed that the Texas law violated women's privacy and forced them to disclose private information to obtain an abortion. The Supreme court ruled in favor of Roe, declaring the Texas law unconstititional because "under the Bill of Rights a woman has the right to terminate her pregnancy, and it is improper for states to deny individuals the right to privacy." This case was important because it was a precedent for future laws allowing women to have an abortion. Due to their controversiality in America, debates on abortion are even continuing on today.

Sources:
http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/wwww/us/marburydef.htm
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/Page/377/How_the_Case_Moved_through_the_Court_System
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plessy_v._Ferguson
http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown-board-education.html
http://www.infoplease.com/us/supreme-court/cases/ar35.html

Effects of Stress

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/stress-symptoms/art-20050987

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/stress/index.shtml

This article up above had a really good summary about what stress symptoms can do to your body, mind, and behavior. I know in class we talked most about the psychological effects of stress, but I thought it was interesting that this article discussed physical problems that might occur with stress.

The next page also has good ways to counteract this stress. It includes things like yoga or tai chi, things that are supposed to be relaxing on the body.

One thing I found interesting about the article that they said stress can cause muscle tension or pain. This seems really unrelated and thought it was interesting that the article though there was a correlation between the two. Stress can also cause over eating or under eating some of the effects that were not gone over in the articles read in class.


Stress is definitely something that you can get help with, but it has to be handled in the proper way.

Art as a Reflector of History

I don't know about you guys but I watch a lot of history channel, and really don't get much history out of it, But I love Pawn Stars. It's kinda a low quality Antiques roadshow and the stuff they bring in can be really, really cool. Some of the most expensive things on the show that come up are firearms, and art. Firearms because they can have great meaning and are cool and collectible, and Art because its an abstract form of expression that people can really connect with. Sometimes Art is ignored in history classes because it seems to be irrelevant, but  art and images have always played a great part in the culture of civilizations, and culture is a huge part of history. Maybe I'm biased because I take art at the school but I think its also a very interesting topic that strays away from the norms of social studies. Take the first art ever made by humans, cave paintings in the upper-paleolithic era, elementary and focused on necessities of life, made almost 30 thousand years ago.They reflect the needs of the prehistoric humans: ones of self preservation and living, not self actualization, because that was their focus in life. Today art differs from that because we express ideas in our art, which puts a higher focus on individual self actualization.  Further down the line we can see how art plays into the expression of religion, notably in the Ancient Indian culture. Once I went to San Francisco to the Asian Art Museum and its amazing to see the stone carvings of deities made with such artisanship. It can be likened to the ancient Egyptian art which, carved in stone, focused more on gods and pharaohs, but in both these types of art from ancient civilizations more abstract ideas aren't usually conveyed but they do give great insights into the culture. The materials they are made from differ as much as the landscape around them do, and they show that the emphasis of life was much on religion, sometimes family life and hierarchy, or power, and everything is as it is shown. Nothing is really challenged or abstractly expressed. They might not be realistic, but that's just the style, not a form of expression. This is similar to the mentality of the European naturalism and neoclassicalism era, trying to depict events with as much accuracy as possible. However as art has progressed, so has its purpose. People began to realize that through images and colors different ideas can be expressed. Take Francisco Goya's painting Third of may, 1808, where an unarmed man in white with his hands in the air is at gunpoint of multiple armed men in black, and was painted to commemorate the Spanish Resistance to Napoleons rule. By painting the figure in white, he becomes a symbol of innocence, while his posture furthers his idea. He is being shot by faceless humans depicted in a militarily cruel stance. With these methods a more abstract Idea is expressed by his painting, contrasting the ancient civilization method. It becomes a commentary rather than a picture, and is an example of how deep art can become. The painting isn't made realistically, almost abstractly, and focuses more on the idea than accurate depiction. By putting this kind of depth into art, we can see a shift in the artist's mentality in style from realism to expression. This has been furthered in the modern day day where people make abstract pieces devoid of realistic shape and form to focus on individual ideas through elements of art. This progression of how art is made shows us how civilization has progressed from a focus on necessity, to a focus on realism, to a focus on expression and self actualization through art, and these qualities can reflect how a civilization has developed.

Francisco Goya's Third of May, 1808

Sources:
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/history/realism.html
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/art-history-timeline.html

Chris Christie's bill

Being a politician has some pretty good financial benefits, and despite what many say about misrepresentation, that isn't itself entirely a bad thing. Obviously the president has the White House, but all governors and congressmen have a very good income, gained from the taxpayers. Again, while some may complain, it's been a part of the American system for the nation's entire existence for the people to pay their representatives' salaries. Which is why what just came out about Chris Christie is bad.

Christie, the Republican governor of New Jersey, has had his share of controversy. Possibly most famous is the "bridgegate scandal," where he and his subordinates shut down lanes on a major bridge as political revenge against a local politician, causing huge traffic jams. However, what came out a few weeks ago is probably more shocking. Christie a huge football fan, spent over $82,000 dollars of taxpayer money on concessions at MetLife Stadium, where the New York Giants and New York Jets play. Later, the Republican Party reimbursed Christie for the expenses to avoid impropriety.

Many think Christie will declare for the presidential election very soon, but with things like this on his record, it may be hard to convince the American people to get on his side.

Ben Carson

 

Since Sean did a post on the democratic party, I looked into the other party: republican party and found a very interesting candidate. Former Director of Pediatric neurosurgery at John Hopkins, Ben Carson will be one of the republican party candidates for the 2016 presidential election.

Biography
Carson received his M.D. from University of Michigan Medical school and did his residency at John Hopkins hospital. He became the youngest major division director at John Hopkins hospital in the field of pediatric neurosurgery at 33. His biggest achievement was being the first surgeon to successfully separate conjoined twins. Both twins survived, and he was regarded as a hero. Carson also refined the hemispherectomy surgery which required the surgeon to take out one of the hemispheres of the brain in order to stop pediatric epilepsy.

In 2008, he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom by George W Bush, and has been a major conservative figure in America.

Political Views
Carson questions the reasons for prolonging life stating that more than half the medical expenses incurred by the average American was in the last six months of their life. He also stated that without prolonging life you have the "dignity of dying in comfort at home". He also insulted Health insurance companies stating that they work for themselves and not the people; he said that the government needs to be more responsible for catastrophic health care. He also is against the Affordable Care Act, and against the legalization of cannabis.

Sources:
http://www.biography.com/people/ben-carson-475422
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Carson

Bernie Sanders

As a follow-up to my last presidential election post, here is some information about Bernie Sanders, the other major candidate for the Democratic party. By the way, the reason I am doing this for the Democratic Party is that there are many more possibilities for the Republican Party.

Bernie Sanders is a Senator from Vermont, who has been associated with the Vermont Progressive Party and Liberty Union Party. He describes himself as a democratic socialist, who has supported a Scandinavian-type of socialism. Though socialism seems to have been long-hated in the United States, many of its ideas are beginning to be supported by Americans. Though his socialist views may not get him very far in the Democratic primary, we will have to wait and see.

His views include:
Naturally, increasing taxes for the rich
Would like to tax carbon and methane emissions
Supports public health care
Wants to make public college tuition-free
Pay equity for women
Wants to raise minimum wage
Expanding social services rather than cutting back

This is just to give you a rough idea on Bernie Sander's views. You can decide whether or not you support him, and maybe you'll even decide to vote for him in the upcoming election.

Sources:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-bernie-sanders/what-can-we-learn-from-de_b_3339736.html

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/05/senator-bernie-sanders-policy-platform-presidential-campaign

The Caning of Charles Sumner

One of the more amusing nuggets of American history, the incident between Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner in the Senate in 1851 is very interesting, including the fact that it happened exactly164 years ago tomorrow. Since the anniversary is coming up, I thought I'd give a brief summary for anyone who had forgotten what happened.

Charles Sumner, a Senator from Massachusetts, was a fierce abolitionist, and gave a speech regarding whether Kansas should be admitted into the Union as a free or slave state. He blatantly attacked several southern Democratic congressmen, including the absent Andrew Butler of South Carolina. After the speech, Preston Brooks, another South Carolina senator and distant relative of Butler, came up to Sumner and attacked him with his walking stick. After many blows, the stick shattered, but Brooks kept up his onslaught.

After the incident, Brooks retired from the federal government. Upon his return to South Carolina, people throughout the south sent him walking sticks to replace the one he had broken on Sumner's head. Ironically, Brooks would die within the year, while Sumner would make a slow but successful recovery and hold federal office for another 18 years.

http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/The_Caning_of_Senator_Charles_Sumner.htm

Hillary Clinton

With the next presidential election coming up next year, and many of us approaching the voting age, I wanted to research some of the potential candidates for the 2016 election. The two major candidates for the Democratic Party are Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. Because I am more familiar with Hillary Clinton, I decided to research her first. As we all know, Hillary is the wife of Bill Clinton, so she has experience in the White House as First Lady. More recently, she ran as a nominee for the Democratic Party, and gained a lot of support, but ultimately lost to Obama. If she wins next year, she would be the first female president of the US.

In terms of her views:
A champion of human rights
Supports Obamacare-wants to strengthen it
Wants to legalize gay marriage and abortion
May cut middle class taxes
More transparency in the NSA
Does not want to use ground troops against the Islamic State
In terms of Israel, she wants to work towards a two state solution
More leniency on illegal immigration

Well, that's all I have, though I'm sure we'll find out a lot more about her views and the views of other candidates soon. In any case, I think it's important that we all learn about the candidates, should we decide to vote next year.


Sources:
https://www.hillaryclinton.com
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/hillary-clinton-believe-candidate-stands-10-issues/