Literacy Blog #10: Obama Scolds 'Bad Apple' For Cancelling Coverage (wut?) And Is It Right For The Government To Do Stuff Without Mistakes?

Read the full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/31/us-usa-healthcare-sebelius-idUSBRE99T0PN20131031


1) In the major public debate over health care reform, President Obama sought to assure people that the government was not going to take over health care, and that they could keep their old plan if they liked it. Why did he need to do this? Why wouldn’t people trust the government to make health care decisions for them?


I believed the reason Obama wanted to keep the original health care ideas is because I think he liked them better and they would more likely help the citizens more with their lives. Speaking of the civilians, the government thinks if they allow them to make their health care decisions, one mistake and they can send their whole budget into a true nightmare.


2) Why does Obama say that insurers not paying for care “limit[s] the care you receive”? To what extent is this true? Is care paid for by insurance the only care you can receive?


“Speaking in Boston, Obama said those who are getting dropped will be able to find new options through the online insurance exchanges, or marketplaces, established under the 2010 law. "Just shop around in the new marketplace," he said. "You're going to get a better deal." He also stressed that the law allows Americans to keep bare-bones plans created before the law was signed, as long as insurers did not change or cancel them. "Remember, before the Affordable Care Act, these bad-apple insurers had free rein every single year to limit the care that you received, or used minor pre-existing conditions to jack up your premiums, or bill you into bankruptcy," Obama said.”


3) If you buy health insurance rather than paying for health care directly, to what extent are you losing your choices in health care spending? What if the government taxes everyone and pays for health care for everyone? How does this affect your level of choice?


I really don’t know what will happen to my life if I go directly to life insurance, but I’m sure it will be much expensive than health care, so that’s a big waste of your money. If the government pays your health care, that’ll be great if they promise to do it correctly. What’s a level a choice?


4) Is it ever right for a President to be untruthful to get the public to accept something he sincerely believes is for their own good? If so, in what circumstances?


If Obama knows what he’s doing is right and he believes that it can help with our economy troubled money losing, maybe there's a fact that we can trust him with what he’s doing to make America a better place.

Literacy Blog #9: Mr. Peabody and Other dogs are Considered People

Dogs Are People, Too

I believe that this because that scientists lack the technology to do that procedure. The M.R.I.s aren't able to tract what the nerve cells of the brain can do, they haven't been functioned to do that yet.

“After months of training and some trial-and-error at the real M.R.I. scanner, we were rewarded with the first maps of brain activity. For our first tests, we measured Callie’s brain response to two hand signals in the scanner. In later experiments, not yet published, we determined which parts of her brain distinguished the scents of familiar and unfamiliar dogs and humans.”

Dogs can enjoy watching entertainment such as movies, but it’s just for entertainment, they won’t learn anything. If they have happy expressions, they’re enjoying the movie, but they won’t understand it with a confused expression. It’s unsure if an M.R.I. can really show what a person is thinking, but if scientists upgrade M.R.Is where they can see what the nerve cells are doing every second, probally.

“Though the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 and state laws raised the bar for the treatment of animals, they solidified the view that animals are things — objects that can be disposed of as long as reasonable care is taken to minimize their suffering.”

I believe that dogs, and other animals, should be known as their proper names, dogs should be known as dogs, deer should be known as deer, gerbils should be known as gerbils, and so forth. It sounds more appropriate because it avoids confusion since you can be considering something else.

When it comes to humans, they can get confused and are like, “You serious? That sounds very stupid”. The human brain is more complex than a dog’s brain, we know more stuff since we have been taught to do normal people stuff like typing, writing, and reading. Dogs, however, can’t do any of the three above because they’re brain lacks the knowledge to do that stuff. However, dogs can be trained by their owners to do tricks that dogs regularly do, like shaking, lying down, or playing dead.

Literacy Blog #8: Suspending Drunk Misunderstandings

Quick Summary: A Massachusetts high school teen has been suspended for driving her friend home from a drinking party.

1: What would you have done in Erin Cox's situation?

Honestly, I would’ve done exactly what she done. I know that it’ll be bad and punishable, but it’s the right thing to do not to let the drunk friend drive instead or there will possibly be a deadly road rage. “"She did what she thought was right, and I'm very proud of her," Eleanor Cox told WBZ-TV in Boston on Sunday night.”

2: How do you think the school’s decision will affect her?

Now that she is suspended, she needs to find a way to successfully apologize to the school and to tell them that she did what was right, no matter what the consequences are.

3: What principle regarding alcohol, if any, is the school standing for?

“"By punishing Erin Cox, the North Andover School District sends a contrary and very dangerous message -- that young people are better off letting their friends drive drunk," the statement read.” I find this VERY CRUEL for the school to say because drunk driving is as dangerous as text and driving. Alcohol blurs your vision, you fall asleep easily, gives you headaches so strong that you’ll scream, and it’ll shut down your kidneys if you drink too much, killing you.

4: Why are schools involved in efforts to prevent teens from drinking?

Schools want teens to stay away from alcohol because it's deadly and it messes up your brain and your intellegence.

5: Why do you think the school suspended Erin Cox? Would your school do something similar?

The reason for her getting suspended was because of being near a drunk person. The drunk friend could've easily get Erin drunk and/or take over the wheel, which could've easily kill both of them. I think that GECHS would do the same thing if Erin was involved, but I'm sure they will agree that she did the right thing about not leaving the drunk friend to drive on her own.

Literacy Blog #7: We Are Teaching High School Students To Write Terribly

Original Article:

http://kellygallagher.org/resources/AoW%201314_8%20SAT%20Writing.pdf

Evaluate the current SAT process based on evidence from this article.

Anne Ruggles Gere, a professor at the University of Michigan states, “What they tell me is that they go through a very regimented scoring process, and the goal of that process is to produce so many units of work in a very short period of time, so if they take more than about three                                                                                                                                        minutes to read and score these essays, they are eliminated from the job of scoring.” I agree on what she has to say because the SAT seems like a strange idea, but its there for a reason. It’s to see if the the students are learning enough material to see if they’re ready for college.

Propose a way in which the SAT’s evaluation of writing accurately judges an applicant’s writing ability.

There is a possibility that the writing proportion of the test can improve your writing skills with the essay questions. If you think about what you’re gonna say really carefully, you can say something really good that can be considered something written well done. It doesn’t fully fit with writing help since there are many more better choices, but it could help your writing.

Based on this article, how prepared do you feel you are to take (or retake) the SAT’s writing portion? What practice or instruction might you still need?

I really don’t want to take the SAT again after I take it, but if I ever need to retest, there are some things I should do. I need to study on the tested material it will tell me about and I have to relax and calm myself so I don’t get scared. If I fall asleep earlier the night before the test, I’ll have enough energy to last myself for the whole test.