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.