Putting the Pieces Together

I See: I see four puzzle pieces with the words Analyze, Reason, Investigate, and Review. I also see that each piece is a different color.

I Think: These pieces could represent the progress of Obama and his cabinet coming together and maybe adding another piece to the puzzle by choosing Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court. Also, our class clearly relates to this image because all 4 of the pieces of this puzzle are steps that one would take when thinking critically.

I Wonder: I wonder if the different colors of these pieces could represent different races in our government?

This was my Final exam for my american studies class. I was limited to 100 words in this assignment so I could not add a few key points that I wanted to make. For the I wonder portion, I want to say that the different races include people like Obama and Sotomayor who both represent minorities. I also would of liked to add in specific times in class when we thought critically. For example, we thought critically about the media many times, we looked at African American Tokenism in television. I really enjoyed this discussion because it was something that has always been right there but I never noticed it. this is just one of many topics that we discussed in American Studies, a class that I really enjoyed being a part of.

American Flag

This is a picture that I took of an American flag. I used this particular flag because I thought the way it is hung is very interesting. It is hanging from a window on its side and it is covered partially by a plant. I think that it is hanging from the window for easy access, if the family wants to take it up then they can. It is possible that the flag is hanging on its side so it is able to flow in the wind. If the flag was hanging in its normal position then the wind would not have as big of an effect on it. The family may want it to seem like a flag on a flag pole, one that blows in the wind. A flag on a flag pole is the ideal position for a flag according to some people. And because of the lack of a pole, I think that this is the best they could do. There is a plant partially covering the flag on the left side. This plant is not thick, so one can easily see through in order to view the flag. i think that this was done purposefully by this family because they may not want the flag to be the center of attention when someone looks at their house. The people that live here may have strong patriotic feelings and they love their country, but they do not need to shout it to the world. They are perfectly fine with being patriotic, but quiet as well.

Creating My Thesis/Map

My topic is Why did the NCAA change the age of a "recruitable prospect" from a ninth grader to a seventh grader? And the answer to this question is not clear to everyone. Each individual has a different opinion on the situation. The NCAA says that they are changing this rule in order to protect the young seventh and eighth grade prospects. But, after thoroughly researching the issue I decided that I think the NCAA changed this rule for the very selfish reason of making money. My problem is that I do not know how to turn this answer into a full Thesis/Map. I think that this answer is sufficient enough for just a thesis, but the map is the tricky part. How can I split this up into three body paragraphs? Do I need to find two other reasons for the NCAA's decisionto change this rule? Or is there another way for me to just focus on the money?

Research Overflow

Over the past week and a half of American Studies class I have been collecting sources in the form of books, articles, and websites. At first glance I thought that I had enough research to write ten junior theme papers on my subject. But once I read the sources that I gathered thoroughly I realized that each piece of research was very similar to the next and very repetitive. For example, I found the same quote in 5 different sources. All of these sources basically said the same things. So I went back and searched for more, but it was harder than I thought. Most of the sources I have been finding have been purely factual, but I am looking for something with an opposing viewpoint to the NCAA. I need some articles that have some biases and that express differing opinions. After searching for a few days I found only a few articles that I feel will really help me write my paper. I am wondering where else can I find articles to support some of the ideas that I have heard about briefly? For example,one of these articles said that the NCAA changed the rules just to make more money. I really like this point of view and want to learn more about it, I just dont know where to look.

Topic Troubles

Now that we are in the middle of Junior Theme, I have noticed some major problems with my topic. My topic was initially, Why do professional athletes make so much money. But, that was much too broad for a 4-6 page paper, and I understand that. Then, I thought about the topic, Why do Americans idolize professional athletes? But, again that was still too broad. Then after having a few conversations with Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Bolos I decided to choose the topic of, Why are college basketball teams recruiting players as young as students in middle school? Initially, I thought that I had finally found a topic that was concise enough for me to write a 4-6 page paper on it and Mr. Bolos and Mr. O'Connor approved. But, throughout my research I have discovered that my initial thought may have been misleading. Through my research I have found that the answer to this topic is that schools have recruiting these young kids to get a leg up on the competition. They are doing this simply to get to the prospect before their competitors do. After finding this information I thought to myself, How could I write 4-6 pages on a question when the answer is one sentence long? Therefore I attempted to think of ways to expand my topic, but, I am having a lot of trouble.

American Insurance Group (AIG) has been bailed out twice by the government in order to keep the economy alive. After AIG received their first bailout they threw a boat party for all of the employees to celebrate their "accomplishment". After the second bail out AIG decided to reward their executives with large bonuses. This action made the country furious because the company received 170 billion dollars from the United States tax payers. AIG claims that these bonuses were necessary to attract top talent to run the company and make the business batter. It turns out that eleven out of seventy-three AIG employees who received one million dollars or more in bonuses no longer are employed at AIG. Congress wants to tax the recipients of theses bonuses in order to regain the money and send where it is needed. Although many believe that it is none of the government's business what AIG decides to do with the money, I agree with those who criticize AIG for their terrible decision making. The government is clearly involved in the situation because the money comes from them. I believe that this money should be retrieved by the government and then sent to wherever it is needed.