I CAN READ

INTRODUCTION PAGES

Erik Santos                                                                                                                                                                              

English Literature and Composition

P.0

The Struggle of Life

            Criminology is the study of criminals and crimes. Criminology has historically played a reforming role in relation to Criminal Law and the criminal justice system. As an applied discipline, it has produced findings that have influenced legislators, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, probation officers, and prison officials, prompting them to better understand crime and criminals and to develop better and more humane sentences and treatments for criminal behavior. The major study of criminology has to do with the reasons why people do specific crimes and which “type” of people do these crimes. The study of these people is currently named  “racial profiling” or “criminal profiling”.

            What is the difference between Racial Profiling and criminal profiling? "Racial Profiling" refers to the discriminatory practice by law enforcement officials of targeting individuals for suspicion of crime based on the individual's race, ethnicity, religion or national origin. Criminal profiling, generally, as practiced by police, is the reliance on a group of characteristics they believe to be associated with crime (adu.org). Examples of racial profiling are the use of race to determine which drivers to stop for minor traffic violations (commonly referred to as "driving while black or brown"), or the use of race to determine which pedestrians to search for illegal contraband. Another example of racial profiling is the targeting, ongoing since the September 11th attacks, of Arabs, Muslims and South Asians for detention on minor immigrant violations in the absence of any connection to the attacks on the World Trade Center or the Pentagon.

            According to the individuals who made these absurd suggestions against race, there is a huge difference between criminal profiling and “racial profiling”. Every minority that is targeted or has been targeted with this injustice knows very well that there is little if not any difference between these two. These two injustices have led to nationwide discrimination, racism, and violence. The main targets for these cruel accusations have been African-Americans and Hispanics. I, being of Hispanic origin, have too felt a partial blow of this giant hammer of suppression.

            I currently lived in a town where about ninety-five percent of the inhabitants are of full Hispanic origin. I will give you a little background information about where I live and how this small, but yet flourishing town I call home was created. Rancho de Guadalupe was established in the 1840s as part of a Mexican land grant and was settled by pioneers of many unique backgrounds, such as European, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, and Mexican. The small town was incorporated as the city of Guadalupe on May 19, 1946. The city name honors Our Lady of Guadalupe, the title given to the Virgin Mary. Guadalupe is a small town. In addition to the Dunes Center, the town contains an art museum, the Rancho de Guadalupe Historical Society, a public library, veteran's memorial, the Masatani Mansion, and an old Buddhist temple (Wiki). The historic building occupied by city hall and the police department used to be a high school. There is a very small historic jail building at the park near the train tracks where the water tower stands. Every year on September 16 there is a parade on Guadalupe St. to celebrate Mexico's independence from Spain. As of 2010, according to the U.S. Census of 2010, the city has a population of 7,080. 

RACIAL PROFILING LIVES ON

I think its absolutely wrong and absurd that policeman judge a person on their race like for example if they see an African American just walking minding his own business that they have the right to question what he's doing because they find there is something "suspicious" going on its wrong that they only think there is something suspicious because hes walking by himself and the main part of it is because of his race! In the video there is a Latino who was verbally assaulted by a policemen because he was asking why he was being questioned for not doing anything wrong and i really believe that it is against our fourth amendment to be searched or just judging us because of our race that we were looking suspicious when obviously you werent doing anything wrong  it just really bothers me. Even through all this non sense that the Major of New York thinks that its ok for policemen to racial profile because they are protecting people from harm but hes not getting the big picture here think about if policemen spend there time questioning these innocent people who arent doing anything wrong they can be spending all that time helping someone who is actually in danger.

VOCAB #9

ultimate- last; furthest or farthest; ending a process or series
interactive- acting one upon or with the other
principle -an accepted or professed rule of action or conduct
guidance- the act or function of guilding; leadership
collaboration- the act or process of collaborating.
formative- giving form or shape; forming; shaping; fashioning
summative- he act or process of determining a sum; addition
racism- a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement, usually involving the idea that one's own race is superior and has the right to rule others.
intelligence- capacity for learning, reasoning, understanding, and similar forms of mental activity; aptitude ingrasping truths, relationships, facts, meanings

LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3

LITERARY ANALYSIS

: Breaking Through; Francisco Jimenez

SETTING:

       The setting takes place in many different areas between Mexico and California. Most of the story takes place in fields in small towns like Santa Maria and a small town located 15 minutes away from Guadalajara. The time period is around the 60’s and the 70’s where there were little pay and poor conditions for field workers. The area is a small Mexican-populated community where the dangers of deportation are high. There are always many different settings due to how much the characters in the story migrated from place to place in order to find jobs and people who would employ them.

MAIN CHARACTER:

            The main character, although quite unusual, is the author himself. His name is Francisco Jimenez. He is an extremely honest and hard-working individual who is dedicated to helping his family go forward. He is the oldest of his siblings. He only speaks and understands Spanish until he attends school. He is an eager individual who is always positive when it comes to learning something new. Although Francisco faces poverty and blatant prejudice, he always remains on the sunny side where little could upset him. His determination to complete school and go on to college is why he was able to write this book and why he is a successful writer.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS:  

       Francisco’s father is an influential person in this story because his father is the person who teaches him his hard-working charisma and his good morals. He is also the person who shapes his future and makes very significant decisions for him. His mother is the one woman in his life that shows him honesty and the ways of being a gentleman. She is a gentle and caring mother who only focuses on what is good for her children and their future. Roberto is Francisco’s brother and best friend whom he regularly spends most of his free time with. His brother is almost like his best friend, but he is also part of the family. Roberto supports all the decisions that Francisco makes throughout the story.

CONFLICT:

            The conflict in this story is that Francisco and his family come from an awfully poverty stricken root. There is little he can do when all he knows what to do is work in the fields. The only way that Francisco can succeed and escape his future of working in the fields is if he attains an education. Sadly his father gets injured and Francisco, him being the oldest brother, has to work in order to sustain his family. While barely holding a job, he is struggling to focus on school which is his future. The question that this book creates in the audience’s mind is how he is going to accomplish the goals that seem so difficult for an average person to achieve. Mean while he is in his stressful situation, his life back is no different with his dad always arguing about how Francisco prefers school over his own family. Francisco simultaneously is tearing apart inside trying to unravel his decisions that he is forced to make.

THEME:

       The theme that this story creates is how a person from the poorest background, with hard work and dedication, is able to succeed in life and be one of the most well known people in the world. A person’s choice of where they are right now, whether that person be successful or not, is completely that person’s fault and no other’s. The morals that a person contains are what helps achieve his/her future. It is basically to never give up when the obstacles in a person’s life get tough. Just keep fighting on, and with a good heart and perseverance, everything will be exactly how you want it to turn out.

VOCAB #8

cursory- Fast, Scanning over scanning
impetus- A moving force
pinnacle- The highest point of something
contumely- insulting display of contempt in words or actions
bereavement- a period of mourning after a loss
cache- a hiding place; especially one in the ground
consummation- the act of consumating
calamity- a great misfortune or disaster
avarice- insatiable greed for riches
fortify- to enforce or make stronger
erratic- deviating from the usual or ordinary
ubiquitous- exisiting or being everywhere
fortitude- mental and emotional strength in facing difficultynonchalant- Not showing an emotion or trouble towads something
affect- To act on; produce an effect in
effect- something that is produced by an agency or cause
misappropriate- to apply wrongfuly and dishonestly
pragmatic- of pertaining to practical considerations
metacognition- High order of thinking which enables understanding
devoutly- devoted to divine worship or service

A HUMAN LIVE VALUE CALCULATOR

Predictive Questions:

1) Is a human life really worth more than others? Are they worth anything at all?
* I believe that human life is what is and that life is given to us naturally and not by paying taxes or by working a certain job. This brings me to the point that Life is not worth anything except of what you yourself make of it.
2) What Is the fundamental purpose of this text to the Audience?
* The Purpose is to emotionally appeal to the audience to make them ponder about how their life really is and just to pay more attention to the life around them.
3) Does the Emotion of the Insurance agents make an impact in who ever is reading this text?
* It does play an important impact because this person could have been a heartless insurance agent straight from the heart of the devil that does not pay attention the worth of a human being.
Key Concepts:

* Agony                       *Questioning Life
* Personal Conflict        * Morals
* Death                         * Reckoning
* Human Worth             * Purpose

Scanning the Text :

* An insurance Agent was to compensate the people who had died during the 9/11 terrorist attack in our country. He was to put a worth of certain amoutn of money on each victim that had parished, but the conflict was that he was to compensate some people more than others simply because of their jobs and their social status in the world.

Vocabulary:

* Incur
* Fringe Benefits
*tort
*balt
* Indignant

VALUE OF LEARNING/VALUE OF LIFE

Well To be honest I really am not sure exactly what to write in this blog post so I shall try my best...

* In my week to be I plan to catch up on all my curricular assignments due to my various absences at school due to some drastic dilemmas. During my week I am to aid my best friend, Orbanel Perez, to construct intricate and creative posters to benefit his campaign as a candidate to run for Homecoming King. We will decorate Orba's float for the rally and dance provocatively in order to gain more votes. At the end of the week I will look forward to attending the football game and watching the Homecoming Court King and Queen be elected. Throughout this magical week I shall achieve an optimum literary analysis which shall make Dr. Preston a very satisfied teacher.

LITERARY ANALYSIS#2

A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

BY: Alexander Solzhenitsyn

SETTING:

            The setting for this story is a prisoner camp in Soviet Russia during the reign of Stalin. There are harsh, freezing conditions where the prisoners are forced to perform back-breaking labor everyday. There are old, run-down bunkers called “Gangs” where the prisoners inhabit to keep shelter from the snow and skin-piercing winds. There is injustice by the own security guards and unjust laws made especially for the prisoners to be tortured. There is a Power Plant where all the prisoners are forced to work, where temperatures are below freezing, and where the food is basically what you give pigs to eat.

MAIN CHARACTER:

            Shukhov, the title prisoner of the novel, is a poor and uneducated man. As such, he is an unusual protagonist in Russian literature. He is not an aristocrat, like most of the heroes of nineteenth-century Russian novels. He is also not a brilliant intellectual or impassioned sufferer. He is amazed by men such as Tsezar who have lived in Moscow, which to Shukhov is an exotic, faraway land. Nor is he a gifted or sensitive emotional soul: he shows almost no affection for his long-forgotten wife and daughters, no romantic nostalgia for his lost home, and no dreams of a better life elsewhere. Shukhov is an ordinary Russian, as implied by his name. “Ivan” is one of the most common names in the Russian language, like the English “John.” His intensity in living, eating, and working puts him in control of his world. In a way, although he is a slave, he is still the king of his little area of the world. He is not an aristocrat by blood, but inwardly he is proud, supreme, and untouchable.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS:

            Tyurin, a foreman at the labor camp, is tough and heroic. Shukhov notes that Tyurin does not even squint when the fierce icy Siberian wind blows straight into his face. At the beginning of the novel, Tyurin is a distant and terrifying authority figure, associated with the dread of punishment. Tyurin’s character shows the camp’s lack of justice since, like everyone else in the camp, he has been thrown into prison without deserving this fate. Tsezar is a well-to-do, cultured prisoner who strikes awe in Shukhov and who represents worldliness and abundance. His regular parcels of lush food items grant him special privileges in the camp that make his fellow prisoners envious. A sniveler and incorrigible beggar, the prisoner Fetyukov is the opposite of the dignified and self-reliant Shukhov. While Shukhov earns extra bread by breaking his back at the Power Station work site, Fetyukov gets extra bread by playing on others’ pity.

CONFLICT:

            The protagonist, Shukhov, and his fellow inmates battle the unjust Soviet camp system and the cruelty of some of its officers. Shukhov experiences an inner conflict between an appreciation of material goods and a respect for spiritual well-being. The menace of punishment in the hole for his belated morning rise, ferocious guards, and the dread of another day of work with aching muscles and a fever threaten Shukhov’s physical and mental well-being.

THEME:

            An important theme in this story is the outrage of unjust punishments. An important aspect of the Stalinist work camp that the novel describes is that the inmates have been convicted of activities that do not seem criminal to us. Gopchik took milk to freedom fighters hiding in the woods; Shukhov was captured by Germans and then accused by the Russians of being a spy; Tyurin was the son of a rich peasant father. The laws and punishment within the labor camp are as unjust as those outside the camp. Shukhov gets into trouble and is threatened with three days in the hole not for any active wrongdoing but simply for being ill. Similarly, Buynovsky receives ten days in the hole for trying to bundle up against the cold with a flannel vest. Neither Shukhov’s illness nor Buynovsky’s attempt to stay warm harm anyone, but the camp treats both as deep violations of the law, worthy of severe punishment. Such harsh retribution for such small offenses is absurd, and the heaping of more punishment upon men already locked into long, hard prison sentences seems like nothing more than a cruel exercising of power by Soviet officials.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

1) To live, or to die: that is the question
Is it more honorable in the mind to endure?
The ongoing battle that is being waged on people
Or to fight against the sea of sadness
And by fighting back finish them: To die: to sleep:
To be nothing; And to end by sleeping
The anguish, and many setbacks
That people inherit, it is the final ending
Greatly to be with, To die: To sleep:
To sleep: and perhaps to dream, that is the obstacle
For after we die what may happen
When we have left the Earth
Make us hesitate: there is the consideration
That causes us to live through a life filled with misfortunes
For who would endure the harsh experiences of life
The wrongs of government; the proud man's insult
The suddenness of scorned love; and the slow nature of the legal system
The insulting behavior of the officials, and the insults
That inferior direct at worthy people
When one might escape
By means of a knife? who would burdens bear
To groan and sweat under a tired life
Except for the fear of something after death
That mysterious land from whose boundaries
No traveler returns, it confuses the mind
And forces us to bear the burdens of life
Rather than exchange them for the unknown
Thus our conscious makes cowards of us all
And so does the natural color of courage
Is hidden by the shadow cast of thought
And projects of great significance
With this in mind stray from their course
And they lose their initiative; calm there you are
My fair Ophelia! Lady in your prayers
Ask for forgiveness of my sins

2) The way I interpret this soliloquy is simply just either taking life as a fail or as a success. You have to grab life by its hind quarters and let it know you mean business in a non-concrete idea kind of way. It is either to act upon or to be acted upon, which is extremely similar to "to be or not to be"

3) Why take the easy way out? Why skip out on knowing how much you're worth and knowing that you could push yourself to the limit? To me I'd much rather live life with all my mistakes and faults because taking the easy way out would just make me a coward.  I also have a feeling that once a life has been lived and when that same life is taken away from you without choice, then you truly won't fear the afterlife as much as you think you should be afraid of it. This is simply because you will not have the choice to delay the afterlife's confrontation, but instead taking it head-on no matter what is on the otherside.

VOCAB #7

cursory-going rapidly over something, without noticing details; hasty; superficial
impetus-a moving force; impulse; stimulus
pinnacle-the highest or culminating point, as of success
contumely-insulting display of contempt in words or actions
bereavement-a period of mourning after a loss
cache-a hiding place, especially one in the ground
consummation-the act of consumating
calamity-a great misfortune or disaster, as a flood or serious injury
avarice-insatiable greed for riches; inordinate
fortify-to protect or strengthen against attack
erratic-deviating from the usual or proper course in conduct or opinion
ubiquitous-existing or being everywhere, especially at the same time
fortitude-mental and emotional strength in facing difficultynonchalant-coolly unconcerned, indifferent, or unexcited
affect-to act on; produce an effect or change in
effect-something that is produced by an agency or cause
misappropriate-to apply wrongfully or dishonestly
pragmatic-of or pertaining to a practical point of view or practical considerations.
metacognition-higher order thinking that enables understanding, analysis, and control of one’s cognitive processes
devoutly-devoted to divine worship or service; pious; religious

1) In his haste of going to work he simply just took a cursory look over his newspaper and left.
2) My mother is the essential impetus to make me clean my room.
3) The St. Joseph and Righetti football game is considered the pinnacle of all football games.
4) I left skipping very contumely from the amazing colorful concert.
5) Besides humans, elephants also go through a stage of bereavement when a loved one is gone.
6) I feeling like making a cache and hiding my head in the ground when Dr. Preston yells at the class for not doing his work.
7) A body builder's daily calorie consummation is extremely high.
8) The two athletes created a calamity when they physically confronted each other on the soccer field.
9) A bad leader is one that looks at his people with avarice eyes in order to become rich.
10) Professional boxers do not need to fortify themselves with body guards because they can simply just defend themselves.
11) When a person is under the influence of drugs they usually portray erratic behavior.
12) During senior year the responsibilities seem to be ubiquitous in all prospects of school.
13) Many people show much fortitude when rejected by the college of their dreams.
14) A person feels nonchalant about how they spend their free time when their favorite TV show gets canceled.
15) The cold weather seems to be affecting everyone's health.
16) The biohazardous material is beginning to effect the public in the form of turning them into zombies.
17) Copying and pasting work is a misappropriate use of one's time.
18) Obama has a pragmatic view on the nuclear testing in Syria.
19) Many countries need a metacognitive thought about the overpopulation of the planet
20) The Pope has devoutly worship towards catholicism.

TO ACT OR NOT TO ACT

Steve Job's speech is commemorating the idea that one must simply not give up, give in, or give out to anything and anyone. That one must endure the savageries of life without any hesitation of looking back, but looking straight ahead to a bright future ahead. Steve is pretty much on the positive side of life! Hamlet on the other hand is reflecting upon the peace that is provided when one wishes to be dead. Being dead, although being peaceful, is not the path to choose from because being alive and enduring the many "heartaches" and "natural shocks" is the beauty of life. It is the quintessence of life itself to completely know that even though life has its extreme faults, it is the faults that makes us human and unique.

DEAR STEVE

This means nothing against you and I hope you do not get offended, but for a college dropout you are very colorful with your words of wisdom. I believe that staying hungry and staying foolish is the essential drive that successful people have come to know and recognize within their hearts. It is the belief that one is never satisfied with their knowledge and wish to further cherish what everyone and everything has to offer. You are an inspiration to millions and everyone, and I do mean everyone, wants to have a story that ends like yours does. This is not to drop out and become a millionaire, but to endure a fraction of what you have gone through and still be an extremely outgoing individual. To become someone that people will someday look up upon and say "I want to be just like that someday".

THE VALUE OF CHOICE

The Ideas I wish I would love to focus on in this curriculum is basically just learning more about life itself and how we're supposed to live in a world where little makes sense, but at the same time you're supposed to pretend that everything else matters. It is something that has boggled both mine and my peer's minds specially now that we're coming closer to the end of our high school careers.Just placing the pieces together and knowing what truly is what we're working towards worth it in the end. I would like to Acquire the skills of sanctity of knowing how to balance the positives of my mind. It would be the curriculum and the people in it themselves that will most likely give me the most insight into what I wish I would have known earlier in life.

NetVibes

I took a quick glance at netvibes and it seems like something you can totally personalize and make your own so that you can make it something to glance upon on a daily basis. This website seems like a legitimate source for news and whatever you have an interest in knowing anything about. Although I still need to get the hang of using it and creating a dashboard ( and making it my browser launch page), I believe it is a tool that I can use at the maximum potential of my disposal.

NO CHILD LEFT UNTABLETED

As a perspective of a student I believe that the introduction of this "Newer" technology will not only worsen our learning experience, but also decrease the amount of effort we put into our school work. An example would be the vocabulary definitions that I just posted up on my blog. Instead of taking my time carefully looking up the words in a dictionary and finding their true meaning I sloppily just went on the internet and basically mindlessly typed down the definition because it was easier. Of course Newer technology has bought us an easier way to experience learning, but at the same time it is making us lazy. Righetti Allumni from about 15-20 years ago had to work about twice or 3 times harder and longer in order to achieve what we can do without an ease today. As time goes on and technology grows at our schools and colleges then our generation and the next generation will only find more effective ways of cheating themselves out of a true education.

VOCAB #5

adroit-skilful or dexterous
 amicable-characterized by or showing goodwill; friendly; peaceable
 averse-having a strong feeling of opposition
 belligerent-warlike; given to waging war
 benevolent-characterized by or expressing goodwill or kindly feelings
 cursory-going rapidly over something, without noticing details
 duplicity-deceitfulness in speech or conduct
 extol-to praise highly; laud
 feasible-capable of being done, effected, or accomplished
 grimace-a facial expression, often ugly or contorted
 holocaust-a great or complete devastation or destruction, especially by fire
 impervious-not permitting penetration or passage
 impetus-a moving force; impulse; stimulus
 jeopardy-hazard or risk of or exposure to loss, harm, death
 meticulous-taking or showing extreme care about minute details; precise
 nostalgia- a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one's life, to one's home or homeland, or to one's family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time
 quintessence-the pure and concentrated essence of a substance
 retrogress-to go backward into an earlier and usually worse condition
 scrutinize-to examine in detail with careful or critical attention
 tepid-moderately warm; lukewarm

1) Astronauts have to be adroit while in space to handle difficult situations.
2) Ghandi was beyond far the most amicable person I have ever come to know.
3) He was not averse about drinking once in a while.
4) The belligerent countries reached a compromise in order to avoid war.
5) Even when Germany was controlled by Nazi's, there were still some benevolent people out there willing to help out the Jews.
6) His cursory study methods only got him a C on his final exam.
7) In his duplicity he did not notice that he was betraying both his friends.
8) Aztecs had an infinite amount of extol to the their Sun God.
9) Although most homework assignments in English class are feasible, some people are just too lazy to do it.
10) He grimaced at the thought of getting in trouble when he came home for staying out too late.
11) The Jewish Holocaust was an undeniably unnecessary act of brutality against humanity.
12) The impervious University only accepted the finest of scholars into their school.
13) The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
14) Jumping over the cliff with his motorcycle could have put his life in jeopardy.
15) Planning out a wedding is a cause for meticulous attention and complete focus.
16) Once in college, most of us will be nostalgic about returning to high school where life was easy.
17) The aroma of his house had the pure quintessence of lavender and natural flora.
18) Many alcoholics usually retrogress back into there drunken state.
19) Our government scrutinizes about screening all federal employees.
20) The water was perfectly tepid to go skinny dipping.