A Study Of The Theme Of Profiling In Jenifer Thompson Cannino, Erin Torneo And Ronald Cottons Memoir Picking Cotton

A Study Of The Theme Of Profiling In Jenifer Thompson Cannino, Erin Torneo And Ronald Cotton's Memoir Picking Cotton As humans our minds tend to form thoughts based on different aspects towards people without having facts to back them up. It is purely a human tendency sometimes even uncontrollable. This is also known as profiling. Profiling can be based off many things, some for example are age, culture, gender, and race. Almost anything that can set one apart from another sets up the perfect stage for profiling. Profiling or any type of personal judgement in the mind is pure human performance, but said aloud or can cause much harm towards others. Profiling is extremely harmful outside the personal boundaries. Picking Cotton, is a great example of profiling. Its a meaningful story that shows profiling through different aspects. Though sometimes profiling others can simply lead to an argument or fight, this story leads to almost ruining someone’s life. Profiling has negative side effects for all involved, Picking Cotton clearly shows how profiling Ronald Cotton had a major impact on himself, his family, and even the women profiling him, Jennifer Thompson and Mary Reynolds. (As evident by the tragedy of Ronald Cotton’s story, it is imperative that society understands the harmful consequences of profiling a human being based on , to avoid wrongfully punishing or stereotyping innocent people.) (jennifer and ronald) (Cannino et. al 33). Profiling is simply a term defined as the recording and analysis of a person’s psychological and behavioral characteristics, sometimes this is done individually or by placing people in invisible groups. Picking Cotton is most definitely a novel written based off profiling. There is only one road that profiling can be used in good manners. That is purely using good judgement in your mind to profile certain people to test if they are either true friends or people you really want. When in situations where you meet new people and you have to make quick judgements on if they are safe to be around or spend time with; that is when profiling skills come into excellent use. Other than that path, profiling is extremely harmful to all who are involved. Media plays a major role influencing many young adults who take part in watching and listening to profile races and gender among other invisible categories. (because they should not be there in the first place) Growing up under two peopleà ¢â‚¬â„¢s influence for 18 years plays a huge part in the way you profile invisible groups. For example if you were to grow up under parents who were racists, that alone would hugely impact your view towards other races. Some homes force their children to believe what they themselves believe, while others let the children have the freedom to choose for themselves. Either way, the world you grow up in as a child leaves much residue on how your beliefs are formed as you start your adult life. Ronald Cotton was labeled as an African America male in his community due to his negative reputation he built himself growing up. Personally I have profiled others and I have been profiled. It is hurtful judgement that no one should ever have to deal with. Coming from an overseas perspective straight to an American perspective was a huge transition for me. I tried to be the â€Å"American† that I saw all around me, but inside I was the African I grew up as. Many people profiled me as a poor African girl. To make things worse, my parents are missionaries so that only added goody goody two shoes to my list. Yes, I did grow up in Africa and yes I am the daughter of missionaries, but that does not give you the right to profile me as a Christian, poor, African girl. I want people to look at the real me, not just automatically make assumptions due to invisible categories made. When I first moved back, I went in the direction of not telling anyone about where I was from or the family I grew u in, just to see what would happen. People tend to be more intrigued when I let them know where I am from. When they were blind to the fact that I am from Africa they were not as easily intrigued with befriending me, once their eyes were opened they automatically clung to me. It was almost sad to realize that being from Africa helped with the amount of friends I had. When people put me in the goody two shoes category I turned to a rebellion stage just to prove I would not be what they categorized me as. Once they categorized me as a wild child, I again turned back to the goody two shoes. People also profiled me as poor, due to the fact that I attended a name brand school, but instead I wore used or passed down clothing. When I was labeled poor, I automatically jumped to wanting to be the opposite. Realizing that I did not come from a rich enough family to afford name brand I switched to finding used name brand clothing. I was all over the place when I moved here back in 7th grade. Thankfully with those experiences this time around I am a much more grounded and independent person.

About this star---Enif Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

About this star---Enif - Essay Example The star; enif has many other names attributed to it. It also goes by the names Os Pegasi, Enf, Al Anf , Enf, Enir or Fom. Enf, Al Anf, Enf and Enir are obtained from the Arabic word, Al Anf which means â€Å"The Nose of the horse. Os Pegasi also means the same only that it is a Latin translation. It is a supergiant that is cool and orange in color. It falls under the constellation named Pegasus. The estimated age of this star is 15 million years and is distanced at 673 light years. The spectral class and visual magnitude are K2 and 2.39 respectively. Absolute magnitude of the star is around -4.19. In relation to the sun, Enif exhibits 6700 times more luminosity, its mass is 10 times more than that of the sun and its diameter is 661 times more than that of the sun. It is the brightest star in its constellation. The orange colored giant changes its size gradually and unevenly. It is subject to ferocious eruptions at various times; a phenomenon that is yet to find a conclusive explanation. The constellation in which Enif falls under is called Pegasus. Pegasus is seventh inn size of all the constellations in the sky. It assumes a square shape often referred to as â€Å"the Great Square of Pegasus†. It has a total of 8 stars and occupies 1121 square degrees area. It falls under the location between -60 and +90 degrees latitudes. Enif is the brightest of the stars at 522 L/Y. Enif is not part of the square but it forms a winged horse structure midway from the square. The other dominant stars in the constellation are Scheat, Markab, Algenib, Homan, Matar, Baham and Salm. It is subject to myth that Pegasus was a winged horse who emanated from the neck of Medusa when she was being beheaded by Perseus. The horse obtained a hero status for helping Bellerophon to conquer Chimera (a fire spitting adversary). In the end, Pegasus was turned into a constellation that is visible during the beginning of the month of October. Pegasus was believed to be visible in the

Vietnam War Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Vietnam War - Essay Example Between the years 1950 to 1965, a series of steps were taken by the United States, which resulted in the incremental entrance of the United States in the Vietnam War. ** A number of efforts have been made to understand and evaluate the causes and grounds of the commencement of Vietnam War, which has yet not been clearly defined. One of the reasons of this confusion is the numerous starting dates of the Vietnam War, which perplex the exact entrance of the United States into the war, and thus, the basic cause of the Vietnam War, which engulfed millions of lives and deteriorated thousands of homes in the country. (Friedman, pp. 49-56) Mainly, it has been observed that Vietnam confronted the opposition of every president that came on the seat in the United States, which has not allow the soothing of war conditions in the Vietnam. Secondly, the communism was not accepted by any of the presidency. In other words, the political leaders of the foreign powers considered the communism as the enemy of everything, and thus, Vietnam confronted a lot of criticism and opposition from the United States government. At some places, an infectious ailment was related w ith the communism by some of the major political leaders of that time. In the year 1949, when the China was influenced with the power of the Communist Party, it was felt by the American leaders that the next Asian domino would be the Vietnam. Thus, one of the causes of the American assistance to the French administration and the French Corps was the fear that was felt by the American leaders, and especially, the American President at that time. (Friedman, pp. 23-27) The Vietnam conflict was encouraged and supported by most of the U.S. presidents, but in bits. This results in the creation of a disinterest against the withdrawal from the conflict region. It was believed by the

The Problems With Standardized Testing Essay -- Standardized Testing Es

The educational system in the United States has gone through many changes over the last century. These changes are a part of a constant movement toward educational excellence for every child in this nation. One of the most recent acts placed on public school systems by the government is to create more accountability for schools in order to ensure that all children are receiving the proper education. Part of this mandate is that public schools will require students to take tests in order to gather information about their academic achievement. Although educators and administrators claim that the mandatory ability testing programs being initiated in America’s public schools will hold students and teachers accountable for academic achievement, these programs are really causing more problems than they are solving. Mandated standardized testing is also known as â€Å"high-stakes testing†. When the tests are used to evaluate students and to hold educators accountable these tests are deemed to be â€Å"high stakes tests† because the consequences can be serious. An example of a serious outcome of these tests would be whether or not a child moves to the next grade or graduates high school. High stakes test were put into action by our nations policymakers in an attempt to improve education. Shortly after taking office in 2001 President George W. Bush announced his No Child Left Behind, which he called â€Å"the cornerstone of my administration.† (The No Child, 2002) This law has been implemented to ensure that all students reach proficiency within 12 years. No Child Left Behind is increasing accountability for our public school systems. Students in grades 3-8 must take annual test in reading and mathematics. The results of the tests are bro... ...w.ed.gov/offices/OESE/esea/exec-summ.html This article gave the text book definition of The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the governments position on the law. President Gorge Bush’s comments were also posted on this site. Each section on the law was reviewed in this article. Weathers, D. (2001, May). The Evils of Mandatory Testing. Retrieved April 12, 2003, from http://www.lessontutor.com/dw1.html This article was much more of a personal opinion of a concerned parent. Even so I found the information useful in order to compare the pro’s and con’s of this issue. Wright, W. E. (2002, June 5). The Effects of High-Stakes Testing in an Inner-City Elementary School: The curriculum, the teachers, and the English language learners. Current Issues in Education [On-line], 5(5). Retrieved on April 15, 2003. from http://cie.ed.asu.edu/volume5/number5/

Describe the main strengths and weaknesses of Utilitarianism Essay

Strengths * Utilitarianism is simple. It doesn’t have a lot of complex rules, but instead the individual can decide would be the ‘best’, by how it affects others. * It is flexible: no law or principle is unchallengeable. * It allows for circumstance, so you can decide what is the best thing to do given the current circumstance. * It ties in with the Christian ethic of unconditional love, as preached by Jesus. * If someone believes that both lying and breaking promises are acts that are intrinsically wrong, utilitarianism provides a principled way in which they can choose which moral rule to break if forced to make a choice between them. * The emphasis on impartiality, unselfishness and altruism is to be commended. * There is no need to consider precedents as absolute – just because one action worked for someone does not mean that it must be enforced again, when it may not work for someone else. * It is also attractive to secular thinkers, because it makes no grand claims to the supernatural or metaphysical. It appeals to tangible results – the consequences of an action will be perceived. Weaknesses * What do we mean by happiness? What makes us happy? It is hard to define happiness as it varies with person to person. * Should happiness always be pursued? What if we can only be happy if we achieve it in a ‘bad’ way? Like if a murderer is only happy if he kills someone. * How can we say that happiness from one pleasure is greater than from another? There is no way to tell if a genius is any more happy than someone not so clever. * Humans do not always treat each other equal. We care more about the people close to us and would give them more consideration in an ethical dilemma. Some would claim that utilitarians are simply idealistic and unrealistic because they do not accurately evaluate human behaviour and just assume we are all perfect, caring equally for everyone. * It is impossible to be certain about a consequence, which is a general problem with teleological ethics. * It is very difficult to measure pleasure given by any outcome. It will take a great deal of time, thought and study, considering effects on both people and the situation. * Can we compare one person’s happiness to another person’s happiness? * If only the total happiness counts, imagine these two situations: [A] 80% population live very well and are very happy because the other 20% are their slaves. [B] There are no slaves and everyone is happy but not as happy as the 80% in situation A. The total and average happiness in both situations is the same, therefore to a utilitarian there is no difference between the two, and both are equally morally right, but slavery is considered wrong. * Is Act Utilitarianism too demanding? Someone buys a TV for à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½500, which would make them happy; but they could also spend the money saving 1000 lives in Africa. Some Act utilitarians would argue that, yes, we should send most of our money overseas, since that would create the most happiness for the most people, but is that too demanding? * The refusal to acknowledge intrinsically wrong acts: a judge might convict an innocent man in order to prevent a riot that would ensue if he were not convicted – a utilitarian would argue that this is permissible because more people would be made unhappy by the lack of a conviction and the riot; but is it intrinsically wrong to imprison or execute an innocent man? * Act utilitarians might accuse Rule utilitarians of being legalistic: what’s the point, they could say, of following a rule when it is clear that the consequences will decrease happiness? In their view, past experience can only give guidelines, not rules. * Rule utilitarianism may just be act utilitarianism in disguise: all the rules are focussed around the maximisation of happiness. Rule utilitarians believe that the best way to maximise happiness is to maximise happiness with every act- but this is just act utilitarianism. * Human rights, justices, and other such values may not have any place in a utilitarian ethical system if the wishes of the majority override them. * Christians, Muslims, and others of religious faith would argue that god decides what is rights, and what is the best outcome; it is not four humans to try to calculate. * Utilitarianism ignores ‘meaning well’ – benevolent motives. * Utilitarianism â€Å"seems to require more of a human that many are capable of providing† * Just as there are no absolutes for determining acts which are intrinsically wrong, there is also no way to define what is universally good. * There must be sufficient account taken of the minority view – the majority are not always right, even though the satisfaction of their wishes might create the most happiness.

How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance...

Shankar Vedantam, author of Hidden Brain and NPR science correspondent informs and advocates for equality in the education system in his article â€Å"How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance† published in the Washington Post (2009). Vedantam begins his article by interacting with the audience while he asks a question,and he cites Sociologist Min-Hsuing Huang’s research on the influence that the environment has on a minority. Huang found out that: reminding minorities of their race before a test, limits them more than if they werent reminded. Vedantam highlights the fact that Huang’s research goes unnoticed by prominent figures in†¦.such as managers, policy makers, parents,etc. He then goes on to prove the corruption in social science that impacts the lives of every minority, which is truly everyone because anyone can be in a setting that makes them a minority. Our class was inspired by Shankar Vedantam’s piece to conduct research on stereotypes at Point Loma High School. We were provided questions by Ms. Roberts and asked one person in class and another outside of class. The ages of those interviewed ranged from freshmen to seniors in highschool. Later, we input our data in a Google form and later converted it into a summary data chart and spreadsheet. The results were sorted by ethnicity and gender. Using our results we were able to find trends/similarities of the impact/aftermath and responses of those who were interviewed This research of 165Show MoreRelatedStereotypes in Our School637 Words   |  3 Pagesthat supports the idea that many people experience stereotypes, and are affected by them. Author and Scientific Journalist, Shankar Vedantam, in his article â€Å"How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† Explains that If people are stereotyped, they can start to embody the stereotypes made about them without realizing it, which could lead to a degradation in their performance, because of the negative self image caused by these stereotypes. He supports this claim by giving a few real worldRead MoreStereotypes at School599 Words   |  2 PagesDr. Shankar Vedantam is a profound author and scientist for the NPR. The author of the passage â€Å"How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance† Shankar Vedantam believes that by reminding a certain race of people about their race before a test they will score lower than if not reminded. Shankar’s purpos e in revealing this information is to erase the imagery of stereotypes when testing. He adopts a different tone when the article moves on by going from a factual article to a more opinionatedRead MoreThe Situation of Stereotypes in High Schools557 Words   |  2 PagesStereotypes in our society can be a major problem, but can be an extremely big problem to teenagers. In my school, stereotypes has a wide range of impact to our students. In our class we had read an article based on stereotypes.Writer and musician, Shankar Vedantam, in his article, â€Å"How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† claims that if you mention a person race they may have a lower performance on tests. He supports his claim by first explaining that when a person is testedRead MoreStereotypes at my school649 Words   |  3 PagesStereotypes in school can affect students and their education. We did some research about stereotypes at our school, Point Loma High, but first we read â₠¬Å"How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† by Shankar Vedantam. He argues that how being a stereotype can bring down someones work performance. He supports his claim by first explaining that on a standardized vocabulary test, black people on average scored a 5.49 out of 10 questions correctly and white people answered 6.33 correctlyRead MoreHow Stereotypes Affect Teens699 Words   |  3 PagesStereotypes can be a problem in our society, but they are especially a problem for teenagers. At my school stereotypes impact a wide range of students. My class read â€Å"How a Self Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† by Writer and novelist, Shankar Vedantam. In his article he argues that telling people about their race before an exam will hurt their performance. He supports his claim by providing statistics on the average test scores of blacks compared to whites. He then explains thatRead MoreStereotypes Can Affect the Test Performance of Peop le507 Words   |  2 Pages Author Shankar Vedantam, in his article How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance suggests how stereotypes can affect the test performance of people who belong to a minority. He supports this claim by first giving the statistics of a study that shows how african americans score worse on a test that is given by a white person than white people taking the same test. Then he says that people who are taking the same test do worse when they are reminded that they belong to a minorityRead MoreStereotypes in Schools953 Words   |  4 PagesStereotypes in school can affect students in their confidence and education. Writer, Shankar Vedantam, in his article, â€Å"How A Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† argues that reminding people of their race before a test or quiz can be the reason they dont score as high on a test. He supports his claim by first explaining things that Sociologist Min-Hsiung Huang discovered. He th en explains how whites have been scoring higher than other races this affects chances of them gettingRead MoreStereotypes in School517 Words   |  2 PagesStereotypes in school can affect student and their education. Writer, Shankar Vedantam, in his article, â€Å" How a Self-Fulfilling Stereotype Can Drag Down Performance,† explains the effects of stereotypes and how other races handle them. He supports his claim by explaining to the audience what a beast is, and how the answer depends on who is asking the question. He then explains how he eventually came to understand that minorities do better when they work with their own race and are not reminded ofRead MoreStereotypes at Point Loma High School609 Words   |  2 PagesOur class does research on the way stereotypes affect people in our school. We have interviewed 165 students. 79% of the people we interviewed were in 9th grade. The rest were evenly spread between 10th 11th and 12th grade. only 42% of our participants w ere female, while 58% were male. The majority of our interviewees identified themselves as white at 46%. 33% were hispanic or latino 7% were african american 4% were asian american 10% were other and 1% were native american. A majority of our participants

A Separate Peace And The Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Claire Whittaker Mrs. Bonjour AP English 12 22 February 2016 Resembling Relationships Novels can develop ties despite being written in different times, with very different plots. Such novels deserve the exploration of comparison between them. Both John Knowles and F. Scott Fitzgerald, in the novels A Separate Peace and The Great Gatsby respectively, show relationships between two male characters and detail how a dream can become out of hand. While both authors use extended flashback to start their narration about the past events, Knowles chooses to tell the story from the perspective of Gene who is extremely involved in Finny’s dream, while Fitzgerald uses Nick as a narrator less connected to Gatsby’s dream and fixation. In the first place, Gene Forrester and Finny in A Separate Peace and Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby both share similarly close relationships with one another. Gene and Nick are both quiet, sensible men who share a friendship with a more flamboyant character who is a dreamer constantly filled with high energy. Knowles and Fitzgerald have a similar character friendships going on in the two novels according to various critics. Nick is the level headed one in The Great Gatsby just like Nick is in A Separate Peace. When Gatsby wants to do something Nick is the one who registers the greatness of his ideas. This points out the contrast of who comes up with grand ideas. It is pointed out that â€Å"Nick is the one who is the supporter of Gatsby inShow MoreRelatedExplore the Ways in Which Edith Wharton Presents Themes of Imprisonment and Entrapment in Ethan Frome and Consider the Ways in Which the Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Illuminates This.1404 Words   |  6 Pagesin Ethan Frome and consider the ways in which The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald illuminates this. In the novel Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton explores the themes of imprisonment and entrapment. The characters portrayed in her novel are trapped and imprisoned by many elements including their environment, loveless marriage, predestination, mind-set, religion and many more. These themes are also explored in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Firstly, one of the key factors that Edith WhartonRead MoreClassism And Prohibition In The Great Gatsby1569 Words   |  7 PagesA World Divided: A Look at Classism and Prohibition in The Great Gatsby Abraham Lincoln famously said: A house divided against itself cannot stand; in today’s world full of conflicts, protests, and wars, this is an idiom that holds immense truth. It has been so for as long as there have been people with opinions, and 1920’s America was an era full of opinions. The Great Gatsby, a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is a classic tale of the Jazz Age told from the perspective of Nick Carraway, a newcomerRead More`` Sula `` By Toni Morrison And The Great Gatsby1762 Words   |  8 PagesThe books â€Å"Sula† by Toni Morrison and â€Å"The Great Gatsby† by F Scott Fitzgerald are books based in the 1920’s. They are about life in that time seen from different perspectives upper white class (extremely wealthy) and of course the lower African American Class. It is obvious racism and discrimination were a crucial part of how society worked in America in this time. How blacks were separated from whites and looked down upon. How becaus e of the color of their skin and race they were forced to liveRead MoreTheme Of Reality In The Great Gatsby1842 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The real peace of mind is accepting reality as it is.† The Creation of a false sense of reality is a prominent theme that is explored in the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. Through his work, Fitzgerald displays how those who build illusions to oppose the harsh realities of their dreams, cannot deal with such conflict and will, therefore, suffer dire consequences. Myrtle, Daisy and the titular protagonist Gatsby all create false illusions of their lives as a result of conflict, forbiddingRead MoreThe Great Gatsby And The American Dream1514 Words   |  7 Pages† (Fitzgerald 17) Since as early as the 1920’s, perhaps even earlier, the United States of America was a beacon of hope - a symbol of prosperity and freedom - that everybody originating from countries that did not offer the same opportunities craved to e xperience. Innumerous historical events, like the great migration movements to Angel and Ellis Island, proved America’s status as the homeland for success. Yet, as literature pieces from the time demonstrate, like The Great Gatsby by F. Scott FitzgeraldRead MoreSAT Top 30 Essay Evidence18536 Words   |  75 Pages................................................. 31 Lord of the Flies, by William Golding (Murderous schoolboys stranded on an island!) ......................... 33 The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald (The famous American novel) ................................................ 35 Historical Events: The American Great Depression (1929-1930s) ........................................................................................ 37 World War I (1914-1918) ..............................Read MoreStudy Guide Literary Terms7657 Words   |  31 PagesNew Testament, John the Baptists head was presented to King Herod on a platter 5. ambiguity-A statement which can contain two or more meanings. For example, when the oracle at Delphi told Croesus that if he waged war on Cyrus he would destroy a great empire, Croesus thought the oracle meant his enemys empire. In fact, the empire Croesus destroyed by going to war was his own 6. analogy- A comparison of two different things that are alike in some way (see metaphor and simile). Analogy is