Lee McKinnis (57)
Kristina Marynczak (37)
Killian Noonan (36)
Melissa Castillo (32)
NikoVelazquez (27)
Shannon Ratzel (23)
Michelle Reyes (22)
Kyle Barczak (21)
Maura Bilek (21)
Susan Bayaa (21)
I decided to do my journal entry on our professor’s portion of Chapter 8: “Be Confident, Not a Know-It-All”. I liked the example of his six year old which he later compared to another writer, which I find kind of amusing. I was satisfied to hear the other side of the topic too because I feel myself telling myself often to be assertive, not a dormat. I thought of the slam poem we watched about language and speaking with conviction. It’s so very powerful, and I never knew how much my word choice could reflect some of my issues with self confidence. The more I think about it, the more obvious it is when I talk or write that I am unsure of myself. I am constantly using filler phrases like “it seems to me” and so when Professor McGuire discussed this topic of filler phrases in class, I found myself cringing and thinking, “Oh crap, that’s totally what I do.” Writing is something I enjoy, and I love to talk to people as well. If I’m going to constantly use these skills then I might as well strengthen them over time, right? (See, there was no reason for me to end that sentence with ‘right’- it was as if I am hoping to receieve reassurance from someone who isn’t there. Yet I didn’t even think about that until after I read over it again) There is also a huge line in being confident and being arrogant, which is something I personally get really irritated with in other people. It seems pretty obvious to me when people are a little too sure of themselves, especially when I disagree or find contradictions in their statements/actions frequently. My boyfriend is the most brilliant person I know, and though he can do anything he sets his mind to with ease, at times it seems he has trouble understanding why other people don’t operate on the same level as him. Things have always been less difficult with him in school and other aspects of life, so when people ask questions and get confused, he has a tendency to seem irritated as he answers as much as he tries to hold back. Sometimes his overly confident tone can really make people feel intimidated and not worthy of contributing in a conversation with him. Since he realized that he sometimes does this, he has been more careful with the way he words things to not offend people who don’t understand- the best part is generally that people are interesting and trying to understand. That’s what matters; although no one knows everything, it’s never a bad thing to try and learn. Everyone operates at a different level, and it’s important to be respectful of that as a writer.
Michael McGuire. “Be Confident, Not a Know-It-All.” Why White Rice?: Thinking through Writing. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Pub., 2010. Print.
Updates from Maura Bilek RSS Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts
-
Maura Bilek
-
Maura Bilek
I really enjoyed the slam poem video we viewed at the end of class on Tuesday. I love slam poems, and he picked something so relevant and yet so undermined in our society- the manner in which we speak. As a writer, I often feel embarrased when I realize what my dialouge sounds like/looks like written word for word. Although I love to write and I feel I have good vocabulary for the mostpart, I still struggle with constantly saying “like” and “you know?” I felt stupid watching this honestly, because even though I am a writer, I still struggle with this issue a lot- using filler words while I am trying to think about something as I’m talking, for one. I laughed at how he mentioned everyone talks like they are making inquiries about everything in the world. The best point was that this reflects our confidence in what we are speaking about. I was inspired in his tone change and overall difference in the way he spoke on conviction. I was very, very inspired. I reflected on it a lot for the following day. I am trying to make a change in my life by sounding less doubtful in the way I speak, and more confident.
Mali, Taylor. TOTALLY LIKE WHATEVER, YOU KNOW? http://www.tayormali.com. Copyright 2009 -
Maura Bilek
Project 5: Service Learning Pt 2
FORMING OUR GROUP’S TOPIC: Animal Cruelty
One of the most important tools for survival I’ve learned in life, and constantly practiced in school, work, and other aspects: one person working alone cannot accomplish nearly as much as two or three, or an entire group. When I found out our class’s next service project involved working in groups, I was interested to see how everything would work out. Our assignment required us to form a group after an exercise where we discussed our strong and weak points as “team players” in group projects. I was happy with how our group turned out- five different people, five different perspectives. At the beginning, my biggest question was what we could all find on a common ground and interest in. I wanted to make sure our topic was something that would engage and interest each group member, so that the ‘hard work’ wouldn’t be as hard. We brainstormed on various ideas: after discussing, we realized most of our ideas were directly related to human suffering. Instead of focusing on that, we decided to shift to a different aspect: animal cruelty. All of us agreed we were animal lovers, against the mistreatment of animals. Almost all of us have or had pets before. We know how special the bond with your cat or dog or horse or whichever kind of pet you have can be. Your pet becomes a part of the family, your best friend. Could you ever hurt your own pet? Some people treat their animals better than they treat any other human being. But a lot of people treat animals inhumanely, in so many different ways- ways I didn’t even know about. Upon discussing our chosen topic even prior to research, I learned a lot about forms of animal abuse I knew very little about- like fighting animals for money. There are so many different forms of animal cruelty/abuse/neglect that the biggest task in organizing our project was choosing what to focus on.
PUTTING OUR IDEAS INTO ACTION
After agreeing to work together on this topic, we started looking for organizations to work with. The first one that came to my mind was the Animal Welfare League in Chicago Ridge. I thought it was a great opportunity for us because it was close in location, and dealt directly with our topic. The Animal Welfare League shelters and takes in neglected and abused animals. I have known people who worked there who told me about all kinds of horrible mistreatment they had seen, so I knew if we wanted to find answers, people at the Animal Welfare League would be able to help us. While a lot of our questions were about animal abuse, we were trying to shed light on a negative, depressing topic by not just telling people how mistreated so many animals are. One main aspect we were hoping to focus on was getting people to adopt animals. We all agreed that it was sort of ridiculous that people will pay huge amounts of money for certain special breeds, just because they look nice or are popular. There are so many animals out there that deserved to be loved. They may not have the shiniest coat, their face may be scruffy, but it’s usually the animals that have been through the most who are the most loyal and deserving dogs.
Our first group meetings consisted of us organizing our ideas into subtopics, and trying to figure out a way to balance everyone’s availability. I figured since a lot of people do volunteer work at the Animal Welfare Center it would be generally easy to come in for a few hours one day after class with our group. After finally figuring out some dates and times we were all available, I called and spoke with the head of the Welfare League, Terri. She liked my idea and liked that we wanted to promote awareness and get people to adopt dogs. But apparently they had a lot going on this month and had to put off our service work day until only a week and a half before our community service fair. We realized this might be a good thing however, because we would have everything we learned/observed/researched fresh in our minds.
Our second meeting consisted of more organizing of ideas/research. Before choosing this topic, we didn’t realize there was so much animal abuse in the world. It made it harder to choose what we were going to talk to our audience about, because there’s so much to be said about this topic. But after speaking with professionals who take in abused animals daily, I think we will gain our most valuable research that people will be very interested to hear about.Our Conclusion
After finishing our research, service work at Animal Welfare league, as well as participating in the Service Fair, our biggest hope as a group is that we can take the valuable information we’ve gained through field study and research analysis, and put together something that will capture the attention of our audience. Instead of bringing up the many issues of the human world, we hope people will think beyond themselves and about other living beings. If you have ever loved an animal like a friend or family, the thought of them being hurt is horrifying. What is even more scary is the fact that animal abuse takes place as a norm in our society. We hope from interviewing professionals on this topic, we will be able to bring more reality about this to people, and encourage them to save an animal’s life by adopting. Animals have had a very positive impact on our lives, and so we want to give back and make one on theirs. I am looking forward to getting more people interested in this cause, and I hope one day we live in a world where the mistreatment of animals is completely not tolerated.
-
Maura Bilek
I liked reading “How Do You Know When You’re Done”? because as a writer, I think everyone at some point has struggled with the feeling of not knowing when or how to end in a piece, with only a few basic guidelines and page requirements to lead them. I have found that the best writing I have produced was writing that had undergone outlines, prewriting, editing, research- basically, actually taking the time and putting that forth in your paper. I, like a lot of people, am the type of person that is prone to cramming and doing things last minute. At times, it can be a good thing. But I know now it definitely is not when it comes to writing papers. I’ve realized this more and more as I go through school, and I think the portfolio assignment in this class is a really good way of being able to go back and change things, edit things, get your work reviewed, so that our work is never really done until the end of semester portfolio is due. Which means we have countless opportunities to try and better our work. Your work is never done until you say it is. There’s always more you can add, and so many formatting and editing changes you can add. But nothing feels better than the conclusion of hard work.
“Why White Rice.” How Do You Know When You’re Done? Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, 2010. 94-95. Print -
Maura Bilek
I decided to write this week entry on 3.1 in Why White Rice. I found it interesting but I disagreed a bit. I always appreciated extra credit in school. If anything, I think it helps create equality among students if enforced the right way. For example, word searches and crossword puzzles for extra credit in middle/high school were great, and super easy, but the students gain nothing. I especially found this humourous when word searches and such were assigned by science/math teachers. I think extra credit can be something to help students who struggle more in certain subjects. Some things come easier to certain individuals and so no one ever is really equal, when it comes to learning abilities. I do think extra credit should be a limited thing, more of like an occasional or rare privledge to help students out. I think extra credit definitely CAN enhance motivation; I did some extra reading and an assignment outside of my humanities class that resulted in a few points that brought my grade up to an A, which I would have had already if not for an absence. I’ve been happier because I’ve been doing well, which has made me work harder. It’s interesting to hear different perspectives from teachers about extra credit. If I become a teacher, I think I will definitely make it available to my students, but I will definitely have limits and it won’t be pointless like suggested.
McGuire, Michael. “Why Money Won’t Cut It and Why Extra Credit Makes You Stupid” Why White Rice? Kendall Publishing, 2010. P 67-68 -
Maura Bilek
Journal Entry #9: I decided to write this journal entry about the topic of group projects within the classroom. Personally, it has always been something I haven’t particularly enjoyed, and from our ‘speed dating’ excercise in class I learned that many others feel the same way. A lot of people shared issues with procrastinating and time management, but seemed to understand the importance of teamwork in groups and not letting your fellow classmates down. One reason I don’t like group projects is because if you have friends in the class, and you get to pick your group, you’re obviously going to want to work with your friends. But like-minded people do not always make the best groups for school projects, and this is something we also discussed in class. It was interesting to hear what people considered their strengths and weaknesses as group workers. Overall I’ve always preferred working individually because that way only I am solely responsible for the outcome. I feel more comfortable this way because I wouldn’t want to get screwed over by other group memebers or let other group members down. But this class excercise sort of changed my outlook and I found a group that seems willing to work hard and open-minded in what we’re doing, so I’m actually looking forward to this group project. We picked a topic at our last class meeting and it should be fun and interesting to work with them on our group’s chosen social issue.
Citation -
Maura Bilek
I found this week’s reading to be very engaging. It related directly to our unit on service work, and what we as individuals need to recognize within ourselves and others to become whatever change in the world we want to put into action. I liked the organization of the piece and how many important aspects of socialization were explained and described so that the reader could better understand the outcome of their perspective, based on their percieved status. For example, it talked about how we are “born into social identities”, classified by our race, ethnicity, gender, etc. You can’t help what you’re born into, but that doesn’t mean you can challenge the invisible boundaries society has placed upon people. Another important point brought up in the text was the idea of being an independent thinker, and how this is subconciously looked down upon by society. Society more often encourages “team players”, which is also important because the more people you have working towards something, the more likely you are to achieve the desired outcome of your goals. At the same time, independent thinking deserves equal recognition and rarely recieves it. It is sad to me that people being independent in their actions is so often known as deviant behavior. The “actions” paragraph and the diagram about it really made me think about how there is so much we can do as individuals to the world, but so often instead we decide to ignore this or go against it. I wish more youth of our current generation were devoted to making changes in the world happen, because it’s a lot easier than it looks- the smallest steps can make a huge difference.
Harro, Bobby. “The Cycle Of Socialization.” 2012: 15-21. Splatter.writing101.net. Web. 23 Mar. 2012 -
Maura Bilek
I decided to write today’s journal entry about the difference of being a reader and a writer. Over time I have realized these two unique skills depend very much on one another. I have heard countless times that in order to be a strong writer, you have to be a strong reader. For instance, I have always enjoyed writing and didn’t really understand why I liked something other people detested in school. Growing up, I read constantly. It not only expanded my vocabulary, but it also proved to be a skill that would help me learn other things I wasn’t as skilled at, such as math/science, in a different way. Even though I find a lot of the concepts of these subjects more difficult to grasp, using my reading skills helped me to take better notes and understand things in my own way. Through peer reviewing and workshops in class where we help edit work other than our own and review it, I’ve really learned a lot about other people’s techniques for writing. I feel I can understand other people’s misunderstandings more, if that makes sense, and help by giving them my own advice or suggestions about things. I’ve also seen a lot of different styles and cool ways people approach topics for their writing that inspired me to want to try new things in my writing. I really like this class because I feel that the important of reading and writing is equally expressed/balanced. They are both very vital skills in my opinion that are very helpful in contributing to one’s academic abilities.
-
Maura Bilek
Dear Editor, I would like to share my opinion about the content shared in your newsletter. On March 1st, an article was posted about how the police came to Stagg High School twice in one day. This incident was due to physical altercations resulting in battery. As a frequent reader of Patch, I couldn’t help but notice this was the second article posted in a matter of months about the police being called to Stagg High School. My main concern is that I feel you are putting Stagg in a shameful, negative shadow my posting these articles. The fact that such a similar article was written recently makes it seem like that is almost your purpose- to talk down about an otherwise great high school, with high test scores, as well as very successful academic and athletic extracurriculars. You are making Stagg High School seem like the black sheep of district 230, when that is far from true. Where are the articles about police being called to Sandburg or Andrew? Sandburg is a way bigger school and I know for a fact there are issues that have involved police in the past year, and I saw no articles about that. Some people who commented on your article about Stagg mentioned this exact same thing, and suggested that Orland Park police work to keep stories like so from reaching the press. I think this is biased and unfair. The constant media exposure to Stagg this year has only been related to negative things- police calls, heroin users, and former students’ invovlvement in a murder case. I think you should do Stagg High School a favor and LEAVE THEM ALONE! Be fair and post about other schools besides Stagg. They are not the only one going through difficult times, and it really feels that you are targeting them. It would be nice to seem some positive articles about what the majority of Stagg High School is doing, which from what I know is great things. Please stop destroying the name of my high school! Sincerely, Former Stagg Student
null-
Kyle Barczak
Maura, your letter really showed how much you care about the area you grew up in and the high school that you attended. I can actually relate rather closely to you because I attended a high school in the same school district. What also shows that you really care about the area around you is that you said you’re a frequent reader of the Patch.
Reading about fights, or as you said, physical altercations, honestly is very surprising to me. I wouldn’t think a newspaper would go as far as writing an article about something like that. I would think that they would stay clear of that simply to protect the name of the high school and their community, which seems to be exactly what you think as well. Then again, if the police had to show up twice in a single day, I could understand the importance of the article. The school I went to was Andrew, and I can definitely tell you it had it’s fair share of fights and other reasons for the police to be at our school. If I remember correctly, I’m pretty sure we always had a police officer in the school; at least around lunch time.
I couldn’t agree with you anymore on your stance with the entire situation of publishing articles about only one school in a district of three. It definitely seems very biased, almost as if the publisher has something against the school. I’m sure that these articles are hurting the school more than the publisher thinks. Not only with how the community views their school, but with where parents want to send their children. If parents read all these articles and are really concerned, they may rather send their child out of district, regardless of the fees. Also, when it comes around to town meetings, or anything along those lines, some community members may argue that they’re putting too much money in to a school where bad things are happening.
If I was reading the Patch and happened to stumble across your letter, I would absolutely write in to the editor as well and let him or her know what I think. In all honesty, I believe anyone who cared about their community would, especially the parents. Because a high school is public doesn’t mean that it’s a bad school, or worse than other schools, but with having such biased articles being published, it’s very hard to think otherwise.
-
-
Maura Bilek
Going over readings in WWR, I found “How Google Works” in 5.7 to be very interesting. I myself, feel a little too dependent on the search engine. It’s such an easy way to find information and resources about literally any question you have. Don’t understand a word in the reading? Google the definition? Don’t know remember to multiply fractions? There’s a youtube video for that? From wiki hows, to yahoo questions, for any question you have Google has at least some form of an answer, or the resources that will guide you to finding the correct one. As a student and a scholar, I do feel we depend too much on internet search engines like google. There are issues of plagarism and copying and pasting; it sure has changed learning in both positive and negative ways. For example, I was having a debate with my boyfriend, who is really into computers and thinks google is the greatest thing ever. I was talking about writing works cited pages for research papers and how it’s best to just know how to write it in the correct form through memorization, rather than finding some website to do it for you. He said it was so simple to use a website to do your work for you, but I argued that even websites can be wrong just as often as people can. I think it’s important to not forget about other equally important resources like boods or literary sources in the process of learning and research. While the Internet makes things faster and easier, often times it can also create problems and errors if you depend too heavily on it.
-
Maura Bilek
HEROIN ABUSE The Trend People Are Dying For…
HEROIN ABUSE: The Trend People Are Dying For
There is an epidemic plaguing the world we live in, and it’s getting worse by the second. Society is silently crippling beneath the grip of one of the deadliest and most addictive drugs known to humankind- heroin. You may have learned about this drug in health class during high school, or from the D.A.R.E. program. Many people are quite aware of the negative stigma associated with heroin. Other than forbidding people from trying it, what else has really been explained to our generation about this drug? To seek an answer to this question, I asked a variety of my everyday acquaintances what they knew about the drug heroin, including family, friends, coworkers, and classmates. I was shocked to learn that most people knew so very little about it. An even more astounding observation I made was that it seemed the older the person was, the less they had to say, and the less they seemed to know about the issue of heroin. The thought of parents being so uneducated about the dangers of drugs frightened me immensely. How can you teach your children to stay away from these substances if you don’t know enough about it to explain anything?
Personally, I knew very little about the drug until my senior year of high school, when I first heard talk of it among students. I thought to myself, “People around here actually do that stuff?” And now I know, the answer is, YES- way more than people realize or acknowledge. Ignorance about this dangerous, deathly substance is causing it to spread around faster and to a variety of different areas, including our seemingly safe and sheltered suburban communities. Some people may not want to believe that the area we live in can be subject to the incredible danger that heroin poses. As scary as it is, people need to accept the reality and become more aware, because it’s happening now as we speak. This is such a serious, unresolved issue in the world today, and the worst part is that people generally are uninformed about it. It’s scary to think about how an ill-informed decision that takes less than a second to make can cost you a lifetime.
My senior year of high school in 2010, multiple people that I knew (some attending Stagg at the time, some previously graduated) began to regularly use heroin. All of the sudden, a word I never thought I’d hear coming out of people’s mouths became a horrifically common part of everyone’s vocabulary. It all seemed to happen completely out of nowhere, – that’s something I think a lot of class of 2010 graduates would agree on. My junior year, I never heard people talking about heroin, but soon enough that changed drastically. Much of the typical hallway gossip involved discussing people who were impulsive and risky enough to try it themselves. I started hearing the word heroin so much more than I ever had in my life, and more than I ever wanted to. Walking past people, I would overhear bits and pieces of conversations like so: “Did you hear that so and so started shooting up? You can see the marks on his arm.” Every teacher and parent’s worst nightmare was becoming real. I felt like the world as I knew it was beginning to fall apart when people close to me made the decision to start using heroin. I didn’t understand why or how someone could ever make that initial decision to try it. As little as I knew about the drug, I had heard that one try was enough to get you hooked. I had also spent a good fraction of my life watching people I knew fight addictions, but nothing seemed as unbelievably scary or hard to quit as heroin did.
After I graduated high school, drug use among students increased and expanded at an alarming rate. Current students describe seeing drug deals in hallways and having the police at school with drug sniffing dogs as a normal occurrence. Another event that seems to have become a norm, sadly enough, is hearing about people overdosing. “It has become kind of like a party drug lately,” stated Joe Miller, Palos Park police chief, speaking on the subject of heroin’s uprising in recent years. (palos.patch.com) There were a handful of deaths this past New Year’s that were rumored (later confirmed following toxicology reports) to involve heroin. I never thought I would have to go to a wake for an 18-year-old, but it was one of the most heartbreaking experiences I have ever endured. The only thing that hurt more than saying goodbye so suddenly and so unexpectedly was seeing the pain and shame on the faces of their loved ones. It seemed likely many wanted to blame themselves for not knowing enough, for not paying enough attention, for not interfering. For a long time, they will be asking themselves, “What if I could have stopped this?” Although it is no one’s fault when someone else dies at the hands of drugs, I feel it is a moral responsibility to ourselves others to be educated about the dangers of this drug, and to share what we know with others. Instead of being unfortunate enough to learn the hard way through losing people, people need to acquire more knowledge about this, and then share it with others. In my opinion this will bring us towards saving more lives than continuously mourning them.
Looking at the issue from a larger scale, it is important to note that heroin is not a new problem in our country either locally or from a global standpoint. Heroin has a long, treacherous history, and has been around for several decades. Below is an excerpt regarding the history of heroin:
“A major change in the type and quantity of heroin in Chicago took place in 1985 following DEA’s Operation Durango, which targeted the Herrera organization’s drug operations. The Herrera organization supplied virtually the entire Chicago heroin market with Mexican brown powdered and black tar heroin. The success of Operation Durango limited the availability of Mexican heroin and opened a window of opportunity for Nigerians to smuggle SEA heroin into Chicago…. The availability of less expensive, higher purity white heroin from Southeast Asia and South America (primarily Colombia), led to increased abuse over the past decade, particularly in the Chicago area.” (www.justice.gov/NDIC)
My objective here is not solely to point out heroin’s malicious existence, or its deathly properties. I want to reinforce the fact to all that this issue is by no means going away- it is growing and spreading like wildfire, especially among our demographic, and in our location specifically. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), almost four million Americans report having tried heroin at least once. It seems to me as though the lack of public knowledge about heroin has rendered people into a state of semi blindness. Lack of education about the drug is one main factor contributing to the rise in use, and others include the cheapness and the availability of the drug. A typical ‘dose’ is about ten dollars on average, making it cheaper than beer or cigarettes in some places. Not only is heroin cheaper than it has ever been, it is more pure substance wise than it has ever been- making addiction unavoidable for those who come into contact with it.
“Over the past few years, experts and law enforcement officials have noticed a disturbing trend: While heroin use in general has leveled off or even declined in most areas, there has been a dramatic spike in teenage heroin use. There are many causes for this trend, which has been seen in New York, Illinois, Alabama and Oregon, but experts agree that it’s closely associated with the easy accessibility of prescription opioid painkillers as well as the decline in the adult heroin market.” (www.adolescent-substance-abuse.com)
The biggest challenge we are up against involving the spread of heroin is the fact that it is now affecting youths in record number. As discussed in the excerpt above, it seems a lot of teenage heroin addiction has a correlation or has started off with abusing prescription drugs. These pills may be easier for suburban teenagers to come across, but once they discover there is substance out there that gives them their desired effect faster, and at a cheaper rate, it won’t take long for them to get ahold of it if they are that desperate. One common misconception about heroin that young people especially seem to have is that snorting the drug is less dangerous, and not so much associated with being a ‘junkie’ who administers the drug intravenously. Eventually, most people who I have come across say at first they only snorted the drug, but then later resorted to shooting up, once their tolerance to it made their habits more expensive.
Another sad reality of heroin’s wrath of society is the way parts of it are glamorized: a line from a popular song called “Time to Pretend” by MGMT, boldly states “I’ll go to Paris, shoot some heroin and f*** with the stars”. Hearing a song from a popular group with lyrics like that send a message (regardless of the songwriter’s intention) to people that doing heroin is a cool or normal thing to do, which in turn makes users feel better about themselves and their habits. Taking trips to the “west side” of Chicago to pick up drugs seems to have become a glorified aspect of teenage heroin addict subculture. Suburban kids coming from affluent residential neighborhoods get a rush of adrenaline just from making trips down to the West Side; in a way it becomes a part of the addiction process itself. As strange as that may seem, it makes sense due to the demographic of most teenage users. Many of them have most likely never been in the crime infested, gang controlled neighborhoods and don’t realize what could happen to them if they aren’t careful. As heroin use increases among suburban Chicagoland, so does the increase of police forces in the area hoping to catch people in the act of transaction. “Chicago Police Department narcotics officers are arresting more suburban white youth for heroin purchases than in previous years. For example, over the past 2 years police in Naperville, a Chicago suburb, identified and tracked at least 40 high school age heroin users who regularly traveled to Chicago’s West Side to purchase heroin”. (www.justice.gov//NDIC) It’s reassuring to know that local police forces are doing what they can to stop this and cracking down on those distribute the drug.
After giving you some background information and statistics about heroin addiction, hopefully you have an enlightened perspective of what heroin is about, who it effects and how. Regardless of how much research you find, there will always be misleading statistics and information about heroin. For example, there are many statistics from surveys taking among a high school that makes the amount of people using seem a lot lower than it is in actuality. Why is this so? For one, many heroin addicts drop out of school or stop going altogether, so that’s one chunk of the statistic. Also take into account the handful of people that lie about their addictions even in anonymity, due to shame. The heroin epidemic is so new and startling that there is very little to read about from a more current standpoint on the internet, let alone in published works. The best resources I came across in learning more about heroin addiction came from everyday people who were affected by this issue and lived through it. I feel that people who are strong enough to overcome such a stranglehold of an addiction deserve to showcase their strength and share it with others. To add to my understanding about heroin addiction, I asked an acquaintance of mine how he would feel being interviewed about his previous addiction. His name is Bryan and he was very comfortable sharing his story and contributing in hopes that his words would reach whoever needed to hear them. This is some of what he had to say.
On how he started using: “I was sixteen. I knew a little bit about it from health class, but not enough to know what was going to happen next. I had an idea about addiction, but never knew how bad it could get. Since then, I OD’d about five times. Right now I am six and a half months sober.”
On why young people decide to start: “For someone that wants everyone to leave them alone and the world to go away, there is no better drug. If I can tell them one thing, it’s that even if it all goes away, you’re only running. One day this world you have created of happiness will crumble, and after that you will be in a new personal hell. The worst part is it never gets better. You will ALWAYS crave that feeling just one more time. It will haunt you through images, pains, fake rushes. Don’t run away. Learn to ask for help.”
On receiving treatment: “I have been in three types of treatment. IOP-which is intensive outpatient therapy, inpatient therapy, and most recently, division 14 of Cook County Jail. Heroin took everything from me, even my freedom for awhile.”
On advice to share with youth: “Please, don’t do it. The worst advice I ever got was try it. The best advice I can give you if you haven’t tried it, is don’t. If you have, don’t do it again.”
Anyone who has been close to someone with a heroin problem knows of the damage it causes not only to the individuals, but to the hearts of their loved ones. Watching Bryan and other people I knew hand their life over to drugs hurt me a lot. I just didn’t get it, and when I told people that, they told me I never would unless I was on the other side of it. No, I don’t know what heroin feels like, and I don’t know what being addicted to it feels like, nor would I ever desire to. What I do know is that I want this horrible substance to stop destroying people’s lives. It may feel like there is very little we can do to help addicts, unless they want to help themselves. I feel that society has not fully addressed this issue and worked towards making progress on it as much as possible. However, there are many people and organizations that are doing what they can to help make a change. The heroin epidemic among suburban teens in Chicago has been recognized by various organizations. For instance, Roosevelt University, a private college in the downtown area, performed an eight month study that found more people visited Chicago emergency rooms for heroin overdoses more than any other metropolitan area in the country. “In 2002, federal statistics showed that the Chicago area had 12,982 heroin-related emergency-room visits, the most in the nation for the fifth consecutive year” (www.heroin-detox.org). A decade later, these numbers continue to rise at ghastly proportions. Overdosing is almost an inevitable outcome for anyone using heroin at an extended period of time. People who use may think they are careful not use over a certain limit, but the truth is it the amount an individual uses or their tolerance has very little to do with overdosing. You can overdose just from using the drug in a different environment you are unfamiliar with. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) has been looking for ways to decrease the amount of deaths that commonly occur from heroin overdoses. One idea currently being explored is making available to people the prescription drug Naloxone, which is opioid overdose antidote. Basically, administering this drug soon enough can reverse the effects of an overdose and save lives.
“Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have programs to distribute naloxone in the community. The programs train people to identify signs of an overdose and provide naloxone to people who use drugs and their loved ones. The CDC survey of 48 programs that distributed naloxone found the medication was given to about 53,000 people, who were trained in recognizing and treating an overdose. The programs received reports of 10,171 overdose reversals.” (www.drugfree.org)
I hope that the CDC works to make this happen in Chicago, where we are in over our head with the worst heroin problem out of any city in the entire country. When people are not able to intervene fast enough to save users from fatal overdosing, one thing many police forces do (something I believe all of them should) take whatever drugs were found during the overdose and send them for testing and tracking of the origin. This makes it possible to discover what kind of drugs are coming from who and where. It is helps guide police forces and the DEA to discovering local distributors are and to stop them from what they are doing.I think I’m addicted to heroin. Where do I go to get help?
My motive in sharing my findings and research about the heroin epidemic is not only to inform, but to guide you from making ill informed decisions in your future. I also hope you will strive to help those those who are suffering from this terrible addiction, based on what you now know about it. If you are a person who has made the mistake of trying heroin, it’s never too late to correct your errors and make the necessary changes to your lifestyle. Here are a few resources you can contact for help. Remember that you aren’t alone, and you always have the option of getting help.
• If you have any questions about opiate addiction, call the Natural Resource Center at this free number to speak to a treatment specialist for a confidential consultation: 1-888-471-0430
• Considering treatment? This website will direct you to places in your area that offer whatever kind of help you are looking for in getting treated.
http://www.findtreatment.samhsa.gov/
• Here is an additional resource for getting treatment in the area. The Chicago Treatment & Counseling Center is located in four locations around Chicago. These centers include free methadone clinics.http://www.chicagotreatment.com/
What can I do to help?
• Spread the word. Take what you’ve learned here and share it with others!! Try out a social experiment like I did and attempt to find out what people know about heroin. You will be surprised to see how little even users know about their own addiction.
• Dedicate yourself to the cause. Although there are no local groups aimed helping put an end to the heroin epidemic, this can easily be changed by a group of like-minded individuals. If enough readers are interested and get in contact with me, perhaps we can make a suggestion to Moraine Faculty to start an organization for people who have been affected by this epidemic and want to put an end to it.
• Don’t be judgemental. Like Bryan said in his interview, trying heroin was the worst decision he ever made in his life. Making stupid decisions does not make you a stupid person- learning from your errors is such an important part of life. If you know people dealing with heroin addiction, try your best to not talk down to them or criticize them as people. The worst thing you can do is push someone away who is already so far gone. Understand that heroin addicts are people too; a few of the first people I knew to start using in high school were initially devoted students receiving straight A’s and university scholarships. Addiction coincides with mental illness quite often, so recognize addiction as a sickness, rather than just a deficiency.Here are a few websites if you’re looking to learn more about the heroin epidemic:
• http://palos.patch.com/articles/forget-the-shame-and-other-advice-for-facing-addictions
Here is a recent article published on the Patch website acknowledging the heroin problem Chicago suburbs face. Prior to this research assignment, this is one of the first local articles I read concerning the increased use of heroin in our community. It offers advice in recognizing addiction in people and how to talk to them about it. It also includes local resources for NA/AA groups and treatment centers in the area.
• http://www.wikihow.com/Help-Someone-Overcome-a-Heroin-Addiction
This website provides a detailed guide with steps for how to help a person overcome their heroin addiction, as well as tips for understanding the behavior of an addict. It also includes warnings, listing for certain signs to watch out for in a person.
• http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/heroin-abuse-addiction
This website has a lot of great information on heroin addiction provided by the National Institute of Drug Abuse. It lists an organized guide to help you find whatever you are interested in learning about addiction wise, and includes a lot of statistics and scientific information about it. It also goes into the medical consequences that can occur during and after drug abuse.Works Cited
“Heroin Detox.” heroin-detox.org. CRC Health Group, 2007.
Web. 18 Feb. 2012.Lambert, Daniel. “School Officials and Police Warn of Rise In Local Teen Heroin Use.”
palos.patch.com. Patch Newsletter, 13 January 2012. Web. 18 Feb. 2012.“Opioid Overdose Antidote Could Have Prevented Many Deaths: CDC.”
Join Together. 17 February 2012. Web. 17 Feb. 2012.Walther, Michael F. “Illinois Drug Threat Assessment.”
justice.gov/NDIC. Department of Justice.
Web 18 Feb. 2012.Watkins, Ann. “The New Faces of Heroin Addiction: Teen Use on the Rise.”
adolescent-substance-abuse.com. CRC Health Group, 2007.
Web. 18 Feb. 2012.-
Kyle Barczak
Maura, when you mentioned your topic in class, I was quickly able to relate to it. I went to Victor J Andrew, in District 230, and I’m extremely surprised that a drug as hardcore as heroin made it into the school system. When I first heard about it from a friend sister I was absolutely amazed. One would think that a parent, teacher, or a dean would catch on to the “epidemic” before it started getting “trendy.” But that gets me to start thinking… If it’s heroin now, what can it be like 3-4 years? It also makes me think back to elementary school when I went through D.A.R.E. It’s almost as if that should be a yearly course because by the looks of things, younger kids are forgetting about everything that one would learn through that course. When you mentioned that you heard of students using heroin when you were graduating that made me almost want to talk to some older high school friends and see if anyone was when I graduated (2009).
In your fourth paragraph when you say, “Although it is no one’s fault when someone else dies at the hands of drugs, I feel it is a moral responsibility to ourselves others to be educated about the dangers of this drug, and to share what we know with others. Instead of being unfortunate enough to learn the hard way through losing people, people need to acquire more knowledge about this, and then share it with others.” I can easily agree with you in two ways. Firstly, I agree with you saying that people need to have more knowledge and understanding about hard drugs. Whether it’s face to face interviews or someone who has gone through rehab, I feel that every student should go through this just to see what the real problems are that come with hard drugs. Maybe in the health classes, I feel like mine rarely touched on drugs at all. Secondly, I highly agree with you saying that it’s no ones fault but the user. I feel very little to no remorse for someone who kills themselves, especially if it’s from a drug overdose. I believe while many people will feel as if they could have stopped the situation, I don’t think that they realize how much that drug is controlling the user and there isn’t very much one can do without the help of rehab.
I really like how you mentioned how any statistics you find will be misleading. While reading your paper I was curious about what the actual amount of students who use are graduating but your paper clearly showed why those will always be misleading. One, being the obvious, if the user dropped out of high school, they dropped out of the survey, no statistics to be recorded. The other, I’m not entirely sure if it’s stated exactly in your paper but I remember you saying it in class, one doesn’t want to associate themselves with heroin. I mean, who would? It’s just a dirty word. Finding a student who would be honest about that would be extremely rare.
Overall, Maura, I thought your paper was excellent. The only thing I would suggest is to see if there are any groups out there that are pushing D.A.R.E to extend their program to later grades or even if there’s one pushing health classes to expand on their drug sections to increase awareness. And if there aren’t, maybe you could start one yourself. I’m sure something like that would be greatly supported by parents and community members.
-
-
Maura Bilek
This week while catching up on the chapter readings for “Why White Rice” I came across a lot of good information to get me thinking about the process of writing our upcoming draft assignment. I really enjoyed the essay on page 82, and I was excited when I realized our own teacher wrote it. Generally, it was a great metaphor to ponder while starting a paper. We’re so used to writing the same formulaic way that we’ve been instructed to follow since early grade school years: thesis < evidence <conclusion. While this keeps us on track and is most likely the way we are most comfortable with, the strongest writing comes from taking risks and doing something different that readers aren't used to. When I was peer reviewing last week, I found myself especially enjoying pieces that were written in styles straying away from the basic five paragaph format. It was a great piece because it made a lot of sense; I've done some travelling in the past with my family, and I noticed the best trips were always the ones that were less planned, more spontaneous. While it's good to have an agenda in my opinion, I think the best way to do anything is just to take your own route and wing it! This piece inspired me to try and write my future papers in a different style of writing than what I'm used to.
-
Prof McGuire
The citation needs work, and be sure to categorize these as “Research/Reading Journal” entries, so I don’t accidentally miss it when I’m checking them in. Thanks.
-
-
Maura Bilek
Service and activism are both vital parts needed to preserve our society. If it weren’t for volunteer work, there is so much that wouldn’t be possible- food kitchens, blood drives, shoe/clothing drives, etc. Although both words are similar in subject matter, their definitions are not exactly the same. Service is a more general word that seems to bring more examples and ideas to my mind. I associate that more with volunteer work and community service. Activism involves people’s goals for changing certain issues, whether they are economic, enviornmental, political, etc. It is the act of deciding what you want to change and why, and service goes into the action of trying to make the change. Activism could be getting the idea out and communicating it to others, through visual aids, protests, and other kinds of activities. Although both words are slightly different in meaning, they are both important steps to making whatever changes you want to make in the world.
-
Maura Bilek
I thought this excercise was very difficult. I felt bad about myself determining the life or death of 11 people, regardless of the fact that they were fictional. All we had to work with was a vauge description and an age. I think that it’s unfair to assume many decisions people made were completely biased or prejudiced because either way the assignment was forcing us to make a choice. It was interesting to see what kind of thinking contributed to people’s decision making. When I did this assignment, I decided to save or keep people based on two important factors: their chance of survival physically/mentally, and what their skills or assets could contribute to the group. For example, I originally eliminated Bobby Lang (mentally challenged child) and Mrs. Hernandez (prostitute/cocktail waitress) because I thought that they would have the most difficulty adjusting to the situation, and less likely to contribute to the group. But when I reflected on my choices the next day, I changed my mind because I realized that the fact that they had more difficult lives didn’t mean that they had less chance of survival; it could actually put them ahead of everyone else who hadn’t. I didn’t learn much about my attitude/thinking from this excercise because I struggled with the fact that we had so little to judge these people by. I felt uncomfortable making assumptions about people based on such a small amount of information.
-
Maura Bilek
I found the author’s writing style to be very captivating; I was impressed with his word choice and ability to display such descriptive visual imagery. It always conjured a clear and concise picture for even the most non-visual readers, like me. The first reading, “What it Means…” provided such a realistic perspective of what it is like to suffer from anxiety. Even though the character most likely suffers from PTSD, a specific anxiety disorder, anyone who suffers from anxiety, or knows someone who does (it’s a lot more common that most people realize) knows exactly what they are experiencing. For people who don’t, it accurately describes the aftermath of trauma in your life and what it does to you. It can make your everyday life a living hell when you are unable to rest your head; being so full of worries is no way to live. I especially enjoyed the second reading, “Your Mother and I”. The father/narrator had quite an amusing sense of humor, and I found myself laughing aloud multiple times at some of the very ridiculous yet interesting concepts explained. I thought highly of the author’s approach to telling the story: a father talking to his child while cooking together. Even though the father seemed to be a bit scatterbrained, a great job was done making sure everything flowed together perfectly. I couldn’t help thinking to myself multiple times that this Eggers guy has some serious skills…at one point the father tells his child to chop up jalapenos, warns him to be careful and shows him a scar on his finger, which launches him into the next part of his ongoing story. There were a bunch of awesome ideas, like being able to relive a year of your childhood for a price, but not being able to change anything- just being able to relive your experiences one more time.This has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember. As cool as it would be to go back in time, I agree it’s not worth changing anything- that would only lead to chaos, and I’m a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, even ones we will never understand the purpose of. I was a little confused about the context of the second story as a whole but that’s what made it a more interesting read for me. Overall, I very much enjoyed the style of this writer and would be interested in reading more of his works.
Eggers, Dave. “What It Means When A Crowd In A Faraway Nation Takes A Soldier Representing Your Own Nation, Shoots Him, Drags Him From His Vehicle And Then Mutilates Him In The Dust,” pgs 17-18. “Your Mother and I.” pgs 115-123. Splatter.writing101.net 2012 -
Maura Bilek
Live. Kill. Die.
Why are you here? What is your purpose? What makes you, you? These are questions that resound within our minds as we grow older, and go through different phases in our lives. A monumental part of youth is figuring out who exactly it is that you are. The person people see you as, and the person you truly are can be two completely different people. I believe that once you find a balance between those two, and become comfortable with your true self, happiness is bound to come your way. Upon responding to the questions, ‘What do you live for? What would you die for? What would you kill for?’, I reflected a lot about my inner self and who I truly am. Although these are three short and modest questions, it was difficult for me to answer them to an extent. Overall, I learned a lot about myself and the kind of person I am. It is obvious I love people and live for my experiences with others; to learn from them, to share them with others, and to transcend above them. I learned a lot about who I really am just from pondering my answers to these questions, and I learned a lot about others by asking them these questions as well. It led to a lot of thought provoking discussions and debate. If you ever have doubts about who you are as a person, asking yourself these questions is an interesting technique to reflecting upon your true self. My answers are as follows.
If you asked someone who knows me well about my personality, it is more than likely their answer would include about how I never stop talking, and ask a lot of questions. One of my favorite quotes by Albert Einstein sums up what is most important to me in my life very accurately- “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day.” I live to find a purpose in my life; to learn new things daily so I can share them with other people. Knowledge truly is power, and I always try to be very aware of my surroundings, and aware of what is going on in the world. I may not be completely sure of what my purpose in life is yet, but it’s a daily mission for me to discover as much about the world as possible so that I can share my experiences with others. At times, it can be frustrating to deal with the insanely chaotic world we live in, but it brings me peace to at least try and make sense of it all. I do this best through learning and helping others to open their eyes to the world more widely. I definitely live for trying new things. I am completely unafraid of change because it is what makes me feel more alive. I am so terrified of one day turning into some miserable old person who completely hating what their life and are full of regret for all the things they never got to do. I live my life avoiding any possibility of regret; life is much too short not to try to do and learn new things every day. Mainly, I live to feel alive, and to find the purpose of being alive.
I can’t think of anyone or anything that I would ever give up my life for other than the people I love and care about the most- my family, my friends, and my boyfriend of two years. It’s sort of cliché, but I would take a bullet the people I love, undoubtedly. I choose the people I love and the people I trust very carefully and so this is why I would give up my life in order to protect them. I am extremely attached to the people I love, and I can’t imagine life without them. I have been through some really difficult times in the past few years especially, and I wouldn’t have gotten through those times at all without the careful advice, guidance, and patience provided to me by them. There are so many people who have been there for me in countless ways, and I can honestly say I owe my entire life to them. I’ll never forget fall of 2010 when I was at ISU still and my best friend came to visit me. We were walking on the side of the street to my friend’s house to go to a party, and an SUV swerved frighteningly close to us. As usual, I was not really paying attention to what was going on, but when the SUV got close, I saw Lauren was close to the street and I pushed her away toward the sidewalk. We kept walking for a minute, and then she said to me, “Do you realize you just saved my life? If you didn’t see that car and pushed me, I’m pretty sure I would have gotten hit.” That was a really scary experience for both of us, but it took a moment for the reality to sink in. It was such an instinct to protect my friend that I didn’t even think twice about what I was doing, I just did it. Other than for an important cause like saving the life of someone else, the only thing I would die for would be inevitable circumstances beyond my control- like sickness, disease, an accident, etc. Life is a priceless gift and I wouldn’t just give it up, unless it involved saving the people I loved, to repay them for saving me, and making my life worth living.
Life is such a precious gift to possess; I appreciate my own greatly, as well as others. I would never kill for anything or anyone because I understand just how valuable one life is, and how easily one life can directly affect another. It’s difficult for me to think of situations where I would ever have a motive to kill. I think if faced with a very serious or dangerous situation, I would maybe kill someone if I had to protect people from someone I haven’t thus far, but since I’ve never actually been in that type of situation, I can’t say for sure how I would react. Having the desire to kill someone or something is so incredibly serious- as many times as I’ve been backstabbed, and hurt terribly, I have never considered actually killing them, even hypothetically. I believe in karma- the way I look at it, being alive is a better consequence. The process of karma has never failed me, and so it’s something I always keep it mind. It definitely makes me feel more positive about my life to recognize the truth in what comes around, goes around. I have no motive to kill or hurt anyone because I believe there is good in everyone, just much deeper within some than others. Since I believe I don’t have to right to choose who lives or who dies, I never want to kill anyone, or be faced with a situation where I might have to.
Life is beautiful, life is confusing, life is interesting, but more than anything, life is SHORT- way too short to not have yourself figured out by the end of it. It’s important to keep track of your values and goals in life, and to remember who you are when you are faced with difficult situations. Some of the worst decisions I’ve made were impulsive ones that did not reflect my morals or my values about life. I live my life to find a purpose, because I believe there’s always a story behind everything and everyone. I would only give up my life for the people I love, because they are everything to me. I would never take the life of another individual because I understand the value one life can have, and how the loss of one can directly affect others. It’s important to know who you are, and I’m glad that I have myself figured out and that I know what I want in life. It’s a scary feeling to be lost and to not know where your direction is, and I live my life to stay on track and help the people I care about do the same.
-
Kyle Barczak
Maura, I really like the way you opened in this essay. To me, asking those questions really got my mind boggled although we all had just done a paper on exactly what those answers might be. I think it’s just the different way you happened to have asked them that really caught my attention. Right off the bat I’m pretty excited to see what kind of person you turn out to be by the time I’m done reading this paper. Your quotes from Albert Einstein reminded me of very many things I have encountered. Through previous jobs I have had I was always told to question authority in regards to rules, if they’re doing something correctly, or about making exceptions to the previously stated. This paper is full of emotion and many relatable instances that had me thinking about myself while reading it. When I read your statement, “I would never kill for anything or anyone because I understand just how valuable one life is, and how easily one life can directly affect another” I really wanted to ask you, “Why?” What if one of your loved ones were being harmed and/or possibly killed; would you stop whatever or whomever is harming them and possibly kill their attacker if that’s what you had to do? Everyone is going to die someday. Would you really let it be your loved ones turn to go if you had the chance to stop it from happening? I think that if you cherished their lives as much as you cherished your own, the act of killing someone for their own defense would be pretty okay. But like I said, it’s just something I think. While I do agree with your stance on karma, wouldn’t the act of doing something with an actually good reason put you on the good side of karma? Maybe that’s just how I imagine it to be. Overall I felt that you wrote a pretty good paper. It was very relatable and full of emotion. It showed what kind of person you truly are and what morals you either grew up with or learned on your own. I also feel like that you had plenty of examples in your paper that almost matched mine, just obviously worded differently because, and let’s be honest, it’d be extremely weird if we had identical situation. Now, there are a few grammatical errors in your paper as well. You seem to confuse the use of a hyphen and comma at points as well as a comma splice or two. Nothing very major but something you look out for. Also, your use of a semi-colon instead of a colon isn’t correct. While that could easily be a mistake of holding your shift key or not, it’s just another thing to look out for when you’re righting a paper. One thing I really learned for comma splices is to read your paper out loud and add the pause that is given with a comma. If it sounds funny, the comma doesn’t belong where it is placed.
-
Alexander Roth
Maura your essay was a brief insight into your life that allowed the reader to see what makes you “tick”. Your perspective was interesting and allowed the reader to understand your decision making process, your dreams, aspirations, fears and how you handle the multiple stresses that make up your day. I also have a strong motivation to learn new things daily; constantly pushing myself to achieve more than what I had done the day before. I feel you effectively portrayed your opinion and your excellent diction painted a literal picture in the reader’s mind that allowed me to better emotionally relate myself to you. In your second paragraph you write “…can be frustrating to deal with the insanely chaotic world we live in,” which, in a reader’s perspective, shows that the hustle of every day life wears on you as much as everyone else. Because you talked about the worlds eroding factors the voice in your paper is one of uncertainty but commitment to your goals. You love your family and friends and are selfless when interacting with them (i.e. you saving your friends life). As a reader I was very interested in why you hold such a vested interest in your friends and family, why are they important to you? I feel if you go more in depth on why you have made a commitment to your friends, family and boyfriend you can more effectively communicate why you hold your specific reasons for living and dying. On the other hand, you believe in taking the passive road when interacting with those who have hurt you. I completely understand and respect your decision to not kill. I also admire your serenity. It is difficult to not be emotional when you’re disrespected or hurt; your faith in karma shows maturity and your good will. The content of your paper successfully answers each question. Evaluating your work I feel that if you included more information about how you came to each answer it would answer any questions that may arise while reading your paper. You were able to set a tone that complimented your writing and gave the reader an emotional tie to what you wrote. Overall, I do not see any obvious mistakes, misunderstandings or contradictions. Your diction could be clearer but because this is a first draft it is understandable to why these are issues. Excellent job and I hope that my notes will help you in your revisions. Please if you have any questions about the peer review feel free to ask me about it, I would love to help.
-
Barbara Bzdyk
I defiantly like the way you started your paper. It opened up the topic of the paper really well. The questions you opened up with, made we think. Your essay definitely didn’t bore me; I actually wanted to read what you have to say. I like how you acted the fact that you learned about yourself while writing this paper, because I know you’re not the only one. I like how you added the quote by Albert Einstein. After reading your essay, feel like you’re strongly opinionated and you definitely know what your beliefs are. Reading your paper forced me to have a lot of ideas and questions in my mind. I thought that you did a good job on creating certain images in my head. The story about the SUV really touched me because I felt like you added a personal story into your essay. I think that you are very open to what you believe. I felt like every question in your essay, you completely answered. This paper is filled with passion and many of the times while reading it I would think about my own life. The ending of your paper, I felt you did a great job. You talked about life in general and I love how you talked about how much you learned about yourself in the process of writing the essay.
-
-
Maura Bilek
Ecological literacy is a term I did not know the meaning of before this assignment. The definition and subject matter associated with it includes a lot of important issues that I have pondered about often. I agree these issues are very important, and I agree with the idea that understanding the natural systems of our planet and our connection with the natural world as humans is very crucial, and often overlooked. Capra believes that the survival of the human races depends on people understanding and mastering the skills of ecological literacy. This includes being educated about what is going on in the world around us, and understanding the benefits, as well as consequences of humans interacting with the natural systems. I agree that our world’s leaders should deem ecological literacy as a vital skill. If issues continue to be overlooked, I fear for our future as a generation. Reflecting upon issues such as our environment’s faltering state due to pollution, climate changes, and lack of natural resources can be very frightening when you expand your knowledge about it. I recently learned a lot about it in my Earth Science class, and having that knowledge can be frightening, especially if you’re unsure of what to do about it. People need to come together and act, and come up with solutions for these issues, or else I think we are pretty screwed for our upcoming generation. Politicians, teachers, and leaders of all types should have a deep understanding and appreciation for ecological literacy and use it to help better the world.
Fritjof Capra.”From The Web of Life.” Splatter:The Messy Art Of Writing101.net. Web. 26 Jan. 2012 -
Maura Bilek
I think the grading contract is very fair for everyone. It motivates everyone toward earning at least a B, which is awesome. It seems like it would be very hard to do well unless you’re completely not putting forth effort. I think more professors should have grading contracts like this.
Corey Gallai, 
Kyle Barczak, and 
Dawn Murry are discussing. 
Barbara Bzdyk, 
Alexander Roth, and 
Dawn Murry 9:22 pm on April 20, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
You are right Maura it takes more then one person to get things accomplished now days. It like saying that saying it takes a village to raise a child. So, I do understanding. You guys are right to get and know who your team members are so, that you are able to work together as a whole. It’s good to try and figure out what everyone’s weak point is. This way you can find out what holds there interest so, that it can work out for them. I myself really don’t care for animals. I did end up getting a fish for my 3yr old son and I can say they touch your heart. I think is cool when they see us coming to the tank they swim over. It’s like that came over to talk to me. How cool is that. So, I now can understand the bond people have with there cats and dogs. So, now to hear how people are abusing animals I just can’t see how people do it. That’s in the same order of murder. Unfortunately, the laws haven’t been passed for people to get that type of punishment. They did use Michael Vick as an example but, that was one person. It’s sad that people are out here fighting animals for money. I personally have one question? Do the animals get any form of medical attention once that are hurt? Dumb question but, I feel there should be thought into it for people that do this. Overall, Maura you have an excellent essay.
Kyle Barczak 11:05 pm on April 23, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Maura, I really, really liked your first part of the paper. The way your group, and yourself, went about deciding on a topic was very creative. I also like how to chose to change the topic from human beings to animals, which might as well be human beings, especially with how pampered some animals are. Then again, as you know more than many others now, there are also many that are treated much worse than humans. I personally wouldn’t be able to hurt my pets in any way, and even when I accidently do, I feel terrible. Later on in the day I’ll walk by them and end up apologizing for the whole scenario, thinking they actually understand that I didn’t mean to do what I had done. Especially after having lost two dogs of mine, a golden retriever and a black lab, I still can’t get over the fact of having to lose any of my current pets. It’s just a terrible feeling to deal with in general, which makes me scared to have to lose a family member; I have no idea how I’d cope with that.
After realizing you had separated every step in progression with your project, I really like that you had done that. It makes it a whole lot easier for the reader to simply read it rather than it feeling as if the topic had completely changed from one to the other without any sort of transitions. It stinks to hear that your possible date for volunteer work had been pushed back, but I definitely agree that it’s also a good thing since you’ll be able to re-work your paper with everything still fresh in your mind. I couldn’t agree more with your feeling towards people adopting animals from shelters. Every pet I have owned was from a shelter, with the exception of my newest cat, which was from a family friend. Each pet that I have encountered that has been from a pound has been the most loyal friend that I have ever seen. No matter what their background was from, they’ll be excited to see you walk through your front door after possibly hours and hours of waiting.
For your conclusion, I feel that the topic you had picked is a very interesting one that will, without a doubt, draw some attention from those who visit the Service Fair when it is held. I’m sure I’ll probably even be swinging by to check it out and learn a bit more. And quiet honestly, I almost wish I had picked a topic like this, even with it seeming like it would be a large mix of emotions.
Overall I really enjoyed what you have managed to write so far. Once you have finished your volunteer work over at the shelter I’m sure you’ll be having an even more attention grabbing paper, and also a very knowledgeable one. I would definitely continue to split it up as you have been into the different sections, but when you talk about your volunteer work, I might add some more emotional words to it, make it directly touch the reader.
Corey Gallai 9:02 pm on April 24, 2012 Permalink | Log in to Reply
I am returning you the favor since you peer reviewed my paper. Being that I am in your group it may be difficult to fully assess this paper. I agree that one person cannot do as much by their selves. It really takes a group of people to make a difference. I was also interested to see how the group would work together. So far, it has been going nicely. I liked how you stated that a pet becomes part of the family. I agree with this completely. I have three dogs and two cats. I don’t think of the cats as real family as they are not always around. On the other hand, I consider the dogs’ part of the family. They are always around me. It is true when they say a dog is a man’s best friend. The same question you stated “could you ever hurt them”? I never see myself hurting a pet. I understand that they will make mistakes and they can anger you at times. I have become frustrated when my dogs have made a mess in the house, but I would never think of hitting them or hurting them because they made a mess. I have also thought many times, why do people abuse their animals?
I liked how you provided some background info in your paper. It is good to include that when writing a paper like this. Once the service learning event has been completed (which it has), this paper will be easier to write. I found when reading the other papers on Splatter, a lot of students had not completed the service learning event. Therefore it seemed the paper had reached a “dead end”.
Your paper is off to a great start. I really like your opening paragraph. I also like that you say what the topic/theme for the project is. Other papers I have read, I had no clue as to their topic was. I really liked your closing paragraph. To me, it makes it more of a narrative story. I also like that the paper has a flow or order to it
I also hope to gain some better knowledge of some of the topics that need some concern in the world after this is all said and done. I also hope when we are presenting this stuff to those who attend the volunteer fair, that people will be determined to help this problem of animal abuse. I too wish that we will live in a world where animal abuse is completely gone. I also hope that people may want to adopt a pet after seeing our display at the volunteer fair. People just have to care enough about it to make it happen.