Essay 1 First Draft: Crime; The Not-So-Silent Killer
Crimes have been committed for as long as there have been laws put
in place by civilizations. Whether it be petty theft, rape or even murder,
these crimes have always been committed and crime has even evolved to
many different foms and they can be committed in many different ways.
Crime is everywhere, nobody can escape it. It doesn’t matter if you
live in a suburban, urban or rural area, it’s bound to happen soon enough. It
affects the people who live in these areas in a negative way and can
disrupt their way of living, even if it occurs often or not
In the three aforementioned types of areas, it can be inferred that the
most crime occurs in urban areas which is correct to an extent because
usnews.com published an article Study: Big City Crime More Likely
in the Day that says “MOST CRIMES COMMITTED in big cities occur
during the day, while more violent offenses happen more frequently at
night, according to a new study. The Sleep Judge, a site dedicated to
providing resources on all things sleep-related, recently funded a study on
10 major cities across the U.S. to analyze when the majority of crimes
occur. The study found that on weekdays, more than half of drug violations,
larceny/theft, simple assaults and property crimes occurred during daylight
hours, between 7 a.m. and 6:59 p.m. However the more serious crimes –
murder, rape/sexual assault, robbery and driving while impaired – still
happen more at night, from 7 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. The exception is the
weekend, when the majority of all kinds of crime take place at night.”
Although it doesn’t outright say that crime happens more in urban areas, it
can be concluded from the study that was done.
In a place that more crimes occur, it can take away from the quality of
life from people that live in the area and make them worry more for
themselves and others and make them not want to leave the house,
especially if you or someone you know and love is a victim of crimes.
Examples from https://www.futurelearn.com/info/courses/ list “Guilt at
having become the victim of crime and feelings one could have prevented it(whether or not this was at all possible).Psychological effects such as
anger, depression or fear, which, in serious cases, can cause
sleeplessness, flashbacks to the offence or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD)” as a couple of the effects on people as a result of a crime.
As someone who lives in the South Bronx and knows people that live
in different areas, it’s easy to hear about crime or even see it happen in
front of you. It’s not as common as other people make it seem but it still
happens for sure. My friends and I have witnessed crimes whether it be
assault or robbery and even though it’s not a common thing to see, we
acted like it was and went on with our business because it was something
we grew up around.To know more about the subject from a perspective
other than my own, I interviewed my girlfriend who lives in a project building
in downtown Manhattan.
Q: What are your thoughts on crime?
A: It depends on the crime ellipses there are a lot of crimes that you can
commit… some things that are considered crimes feel unnecessary
Q: Like what?
A: Partaking drug paraphernalia, like that’s something you should get help
with and go to rehab for it and also the case of Cyntoia Brown where she
became a criminal for defending herself against her abuser who kept her
captive.
Q: Does crime happen often in your community?
A: Yes it does, I get at least two or three notifications a day from the Citizen
app.
Q: What is this Citizen that you speak of?
A:The Citizens app is an app that people like can just update and like alert
other users whether or not there’s a crime or other emergencies happening
in my area and you can see where crime happens all throughout New York
City or even in other states.
Q: Are you desensitized to it?
A: Most definitely, it just happened so much where I’ve witnessed it and it’s
become normal now. It just doesn’t feel like it is considered taboo anymore
especially if you live in NYC where it’s hard to not see something that’s
considered a crime.Q: How do you feel that being desensitized to crime impacts your
view on life or life in general?
A: I think it impacts and negatively for the most part so much so that I
turned a blind eye to it even though that’s not much of a good thing
because seeing someone getting shot for example is not a normal thing to
see seeing as how the victim of the crime is impacted negatively and I just
act like it’s normal.
In times like this we are living, crime has seen a significant rise
despite coronavirus being a threat. The recent killings of black people by
police officers has made people lose faith in the police and rebel against
them and metaphorically take away the power the police have. Some of the
crimes committed in the wake of these events have been in response to the
killings and others crimes committed have most definitely been to take
advantage of the freedom people feel like they have now. Authorities being
challenged makes it harder for people to do their job because although
there are strong feelings regarding the killings of black people by cops, this
generalizes the police force as a whole and the presence of police officers
helped to deter crime to an extent even if it wasn’t by much.

Reflection:

When I was thinking of what publication I should send my opinion editorial to, I didn’t really know who to send it to. I was aware of Buzzfeed and The New York Times and other publications but it just didn’t feel right if I were to pitch to those editorials. I then found Vox. It was familiar and I vaguely remember hearing about it and reading an article from Vox. I chose Vox simply because I didn’t know much about it and it felt more trustworthy compared to the other publications for some reason. I don’t have a targeted audience, I’m just hoping that my opinion editorial reaches everybody. I’m addressing crime and its effects on people especially if they live in areas where crime is more common than other kinds of areas such as suburban and rural. 

Essay 1 Final Draft: Crime; The Not-So-Silent Killer
Crimes have been committed for as long as there have been laws put
in place by civilizations. Whether it be petty theft, rape or even murder,
these crimes have always been committed and crime has even evolved to
many different foms and they can be committed in many different ways.
Crime is everywhere, nobody can escape it. It doesn’t matter if you
live in a suburban, urban or rural area, it’s bound to happen soon enough. It
affects the people who live in these areas in a negative way and can
disrupt their way of living, even if it occurs often or not at all.
In the three aforementioned types of areas, it can be inferred that the
most crime occurs in urban areas which is correct to an extent. A
law.jrank.org article Are Crime Rates HIgher In Urban Areas? says
“According to crime statistics, community size does make a difference,
as crime rates are higher in urban areas than in rural areas. Violent and
property crime rates in our largest cities (Metropolitan Statistical Areas,
or MSAs) are three to four times as high as the rates in rural
communities (Barkan). These statistics hold for nearly all types of
crime…For example, according to 1995 statistics from the Uniform Crime
Reports, in U.S. metropolitan areas, homicide claims 11 victims per
100,000 inhabitants and more than 25 per 100,000 in some of the largest
cities. In small cities and in rural counties, homicide claims only 5 victims
per 100,000, and fewer than 2 per 100,000 in our most rural states…This
pattern also occurs for robbery and assault; they are much more common
in large urban areas than elsewhere.”. The article then goes on to say that
although this is the case, criminologists are having a hard time
understanding this phenomenon.
In a place that more crimes occur, it can take away from the quality of
life from people that live in the area and make them worry more for
themselves and others and make them not want to leave the house,
especially if you or someone you know and love is a victim of crimes.
Examples from FutureLearn list “Guilt at having become the victim of crimeand feelings one could have prevented it (whether or not this was at all
possible).Psychological effects such as anger, depression or fear, which, in
serious cases, can cause sleeplessness, flashbacks to the offence or
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)” as a couple of the effects on
people as a result of a crime.
As someone who lives in the South Bronx and knows people that live
in different areas, it’s easy to hear about crime or even see it happen in
front of you. It’s not as common as other people make it seem but it still
happens for sure. My friends and I have witnessed crimes whether it be
assault or robbery and even though it’s not a common thing to see, we
acted like it was and went on with our business because it was something
we grew up around.To know more about the subject from a perspective
other than my own, I interviewed my girlfriend who lives in a project building
in downtown Manhattan.
Q: What are your thoughts on crime?
A: It depends on the crime ellipses there are a lot of crimes that you can
commit… some things that are considered crimes feel unnecessary
Q: Like what?
A: Partaking drug paraphernalia, like that’s something you should get help
with and go to rehab for it and also the case of Cyntoia Brown where she
became a criminal for defending herself against her abuser who kept her
captive.
Q: Does crime happen often in your community?
A: Yes it does, I get at least two or three notifications a day from the Citizen
app.
Q: What is this Citizen that you speak of?
A:The Citizens app is an app that people like can just update and like alert
other users whether or not there’s a crime or other emergencies happening
in my area and you can see where crime happens all throughout New York
City or even in other states.
Q: Are you desensitized to it?
A: Most definitely, it just happened so much where I’ve witnessed it and it’s
become normal now. It just doesn’t feel like it is considered taboo anymoreespecially if you live in NYC where it’s hard to not see something that’s
considered a crime.
Q: How do you feel that being desensitized to crime impacts your
view on life or life in general?
A: I think it impacts and negatively for the most part so much so that I
turned a blind eye to it even though that’s not much of a good thing
because seeing someone getting shot for example is not a normal thing to
see seeing as how the victim of the crime is impacted negatively and I just
act like it’s normal.
In times like this we are living, crime has seen a significant rise
despite coronavirus being a threat. The recent killings of black people by
police officers has made people lose faith in the police and rebel against
them and metaphorically take away the power the police have. Some of the
crimes committed in the wake of these events have been in response to the
killings and others crimes committed have most definitely been to take
advantage of the freedom people feel like they have now. Authorities being
challenged makes it harder for people to do their job because although
there are strong feelings regarding the killings of black people by cops, this
generalizes the police force as a whole and the presence of police officers
helped to deter crime to an extent even if it wasn’t by much.

Reflection: After submitting my first draft to the discussion board on blackboard, I was told to expand on the idea of how crime affects people psychologically and I was even told that I was a bit confused in explaining my ideas especially since I included an article that felt a little out of place. I would’ve wanted to expand on the psychological effects and properly address an audience but I didn’t have enough space to do so and I didn’t want to go over the word limit. My audience is still the same and it was meant to be for anybody and everybody because I don’t really know who should be targeted specifically

Essay 2 First Draft:

Audience Strategy

The genre I selected that I believed would best convey my message to my audience was a photoshopped picture. This picture utilizes a backdrop of a real projects located in the Bronx to give off a sense of authenticity when it comes to the topic of crime, especially since people regard the Bronx as a hotbed for crime.

My intended audience is those who are able to bring about change such as senators, legislators, lawmakers, etc. as well as the people of these communities. These are the people who have the power to make change especially when it comes to crime and how to deal with it. I’m also hoping to reach everybody else because in doing so, I will be able to garner support in trying to bring positive change to communities affected by crime. Although it can be argued that since this is a problem for urban peoples, why should non urban people get involved, that is because it is an obstacle in the way of a prosperous and peaceful nation.

I want my audience to understand that crime is a problem in urban areas and it’s a problem that affects all people who live in urban areas. I want them to feel a sense of shock and disgust or just any reaction that is enough to make them feel sick to their stomach but with slight humor slipped in to ease the discomfort because sometimes reality is far too big a pill to swallow In doing so, they will be forced to see the reality of it all and it will hopefully be enough for them to want to do something about it. I simply want to evoke emotion.

Reflection

I chose my genre because I wanted my visual to speak for itself; there’s no dialogue so it would have to rely heavily on the visuals only. My choice in doing this was affected by my intended audience because simply making claims and inputting evidence on crime isn’t enough to show someone the reality of it all, regardless of who it is.

In engaging my audience, the rhetorical strategies I used are pathos, logos, and ethos. I already covered how I wanted to evoke emotion which played a large part in the creation of my visual piece but if I am going to address people such as senators, legislators, lawmakers, etc, I will have to employ logos. The pathos portion of my visual piece is mainly a shock factor which is the hook; my attention-getter. Of course, this isn’t enough to get my point across so my visual piece has to be formal in nature or else it won’t be taken seriously and that will be the logos portion. My ethos would be the fact that I am from the South Bronx and I have experienced first hand the crime that happens and how it affects those on the receiving end of it.

Composing a visual essay is very much different from writing a traditional essay.  It’s a different way of getting a message across. Anyone can type an essay out with the intention of getting their message across but when visuals are involved, much less words are used. In the day and age of technology, there are mainly visuals like for example, if there is a news report for a crime, a description is said by the newsperson but they are accompanied with a visual of the crime happening and/or the person responsible. Paragraphs on top of paragraphs are obsolete at this point because why write so much if you have the ability to use a visual that can speak for itself.

Essay 2 Final Draft:

Audience Strategy I believe the genre best suited to convey my message to my audience was a photoshopped picture. This picture utilizes a backdrop from a real projects area located in the Bronx to give off a sense of authenticity when it comes to the topic of crime, especially since people regard the Bronx as a hotbed for crime. My intended audience is those who are able to bring about change such as senators, legislators, lawmakers, etc. as well as the people of these communities. These are the people who have the power to make change especially when it comes to crime and how to deal with it. I’m also hoping to reach everybody else because in doing so, I will be able to garner support in trying to bring positive change to communities affected by crime. Although it can be argued that since this is a problem for urban peoples, why should non urban people get involved, that is because it is an obstacle in the way of a prosperous and peaceful nation. I want my audience to understand that crime is a problem in urban areas and it’s a problem that affects all people who live there. I want them to feel a sense of shock and disgust or just any reaction that is enough to make them feel sick to their stomach but with slight humor slipped in to ease the discomfort because sometimes reality is far too big a pill to swallow. In doing so, they will be forced to see the reality of it all and it will hopefully be enough for them to want to do something about it. I simply want to evoke emotion.

Essay 3 First Draft:

While school has been an institution that has been around for a very long time and is thought to have many positive effects on the youth, it has also affected students negatively by causing stress that then leads to mental health issues.
The meaning of Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students by Meg Anderson and Kavitha Cardoza describes how mental health and the factors that comprise it cause bigger problems than people expect. With this being the case, many schools aren’t equipped to deal with these issues. To help make this argument, the authors employ use of logos with statistics to show how common the issue is and pathos in the form of a girl named Katie who suffered from depression and bulimia, mainly because of her school environment. She is a small drop in the ocean of those who suffer from mental health related issues The authors are effective in using Katie’s story to emphasize the reality of someone who is struggling mentally because she didn’t have any friends and she was bullied. Other students saw her as a loner and capitalized on that and perceived her to be a “weirdo”. Although bullying might be a common cause for stress and anxiety, that doesn’t mean there aren’t more that could be even more common.
Bullying and not having friends are only a part of the social aspect of what causes stresses in the school life of students. The academic aspect of school could be quite challenging for students and it can weigh heavy on their shoulders. Oxford addresses the topic and lists 11 common causes which include “lack of support, too much homework, heavy workload, transitioning to a new environment, classes that are too hard, etc”. Katie, whom the previous authors Anderson and Cardova use as their example, first started to develop stress and anxiety when she transferred to a new school in the middle of the year at the tender age of 8 years old. She exhibited one of the common stressors which was transitioning to a new environment and she wasn’t too sure on how to make friends. This made her act withdrawn and not socialize with others and spent recess or lunch time with teachers to “do work” when in reality she just didn’t want to be with other kids. It is ironic that she spent a lot of time with teachers but she felt as if they didn’t care, “During all this time, she says, not a single principal or teacher or counselor ever asked her one simple question: “What’s wrong?”. This is especially useful to further the argument made by the authors because Oxford mentions how a lack of support could be detrimental and have a negative effect on a student in an academic environment. Although the Oxford article does list 11 common stressors of school, it only does so in the academic aspect and doesn’t mention a stressor that could be social. Katie’s account does mention her going from an honor roll student to then failing but it isn’t specified whether it was an academic stressor or a social stressor because after she put on weight was when she began to be bullied. The nature of these stressors can be a bit complicated and aren’t limited to the school environment.
Indicators of these stressors and the effect it can have on a student could be spotted at home or they could pile up with things happening outside of school. Chris Iliades from Everyday Health lists some other stressors for students/teens including “Demands of school or work, unsafe living conditions, unstable home environment, bullying, obesity, chronic illness, overly high expectations, negative thoughts and self-doubt”, some of which are what Katie experienced during the duration of her time as a student. This broadens the horizons on what students especially high school students might possibly have on their plate because the teenage years are undoubtedly hard since it’s when they begin to transition from a kid to a young adult and this of course comes with its fair share of challenges. It is a time when they are literally still developing emotionally and physically. “‘The adolescent brain is at a unique stage of development. It is a time when the brain is very sensitive and in the process of forming its wiring network. ‘Adolescent brains may be more sensitive to the stress hormone cortisol and may feel its effects more quickly. The part of the brain that is responsible for shutting down the stress response, called the prefrontal cortex, is less developed in adolescents, so stress may also be experienced for longer periods. ‘Among the most common types of mental illness in young adults that may be triggered by stress are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and substance abuse’”. Bipolar disorder, severe depression, and substance abuse are now more common in today’s era due to the seemingly increased difficulty of schools and other institutions. There is also the issue of students who are first generation college students so there are extremely high expectations set upon them to be able to accomplish great things and do well so that they may contribute more and provide for their family. All of these factors are taken into account when evaluating the argument of how stressor factors coupled with others are likely to be responsible for mental health issues that occur within students and teens. This issue is likely not even affecting just those who are high school/college students and teens.
A question that can arise from this is when do these factors that cause stress start affecting students and someone might say middle school because the curriculum indeed gets a bit challenging and the transition might affect a few of the students. This is right but there are instances where even kindergartners are under the stress of being in the classroom and doing well. The National Education Association starts off their article with an account of kindergarten teachers, “Even the 4- and 5-year-olds in Marty Davis’ Utah kindergarten classroom get anxious. ‘We expect so much from them, and they feel the pressure,’ she said. ‘They’re like ‘I can’t!’ And I’m like [the Little Engine That Could, who says], ‘I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!’”. Although this is one account and doesn’t speak for all kindergartners, it shows a possibility of the likeliness of such a thing occurring. At such a young age, children should be doing things that bring them joy and enjoying their childhood while they still have it because it may not last as long as they would want it to. It’s also said “In kindergarten, instead of making art and new friends, they learned to write full-on sentences in timed tests. Hours spent in art, music, physical education and recess were limited, or eliminated. For fun, these students attended pep rallies to pump them up for state testing”. These feelings can translate into elementary school then into middle school and then into high school and then so on and so forth. It can be exhausting for many. “The NEA states “By high school and college, many students have run out of steam. Anxiety—the mental-health tsunami of their generation—has caught up with them. Today’s teens and young adults are the most anxious ever, according to mental-health surveys. They admit it themselves: In February, a Pew survey found that 70 percent of teens say anxiety and depression is a “major problem” among their peers, and an additional 26 percent say it’s a minor problem.” Regardless of whether a small portion said it was a minor problem, it is still a problem and those who said it is a major problem dwarf those in comparison who said it was a minor problem. This problem is set into today’s setting where technology plays a much bigger role than it did many years ago when many didn’t have cellular devices simply because they weren’t as developed as they are now. With basically everything in the palm of your hand and the existence of social media, the stressors grew. NEA states “‘What happened so that so many more teens, in such a short time, would feel depressed, attempt suicide and commit suicide?’ wrote one of the study’s authors, San Diego State University professor Jean Twenge, in a Washington Post column. ‘After scouring several large surveys for clues, I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.’ Teens who spend five or more hours online a day were 71 percent more likely than those who spent only one hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor, Twenge’s research found”. Bullying evolved into cyberbullying which then made it easier to harass students without having to see them in person and this can for sure do damage on a students self esteem and make them feel useless and these constantly feelings can lead to depression and/or at worse, suicide.
Consequently, while the purpose of school is to educate the youth and teach them useful skills that they potentially use in the future, it may have more of a negative impact on its students than people might come to realize. Schoolwork and the expectations put on students to do their work and be able to do it well puts a toll on them and sometimes peers can add to that weight by bullying which has become increasingly easier with the cellphone all of which generate stress and anxiety and cause mental illness in them. A lot of the times, schools aren’t equipped to deal with such problems so it makes it harder to tend to the welfare of students. How much longer will it take for the school system to change so that it may actually benefit its students and to properly care for them in times of need?

Reflection:
I had trouble at first when coming up with a thesis so I just decided to go on ahead and start typing to brainstorm so that I could eventually come up with one. I knew what I wanted to argue but I just didn’t know how to say it in a way that would help me flesh out my paper to an extent. I had quite some trouble when looking for information because I thought that this topic would be pretty easy in acquiring information but since my topic is sort of recent, the information on it is somewhat limited. This of course meant that I had to discard a couple sources because at first glance they looked like they would be extremely helpful in what I was trying to argue but after a second and more thorough look, it became clear that the source wasn’t as good as I first thought it to be. My text lacked some information and it didn’t fully touch on the topic like how I wanted to but it was still good enough. The sources I used to support my thesis statement contribute to my argument each have their own attributes meaning they did something well in contributing to my argument and whatever information one source was missing, I made sure to find another source that would help fill in those gaps and the three sources I used all complete each other to an extent.

Essay 3 Final Draft:

While school has been an institution that has been around for a very long time and is thought to have many positive effects on the youth, it has also affected students negatively by causing stress that then leads to mental health issues. 

The meaning of Mental Health In Schools: A Hidden Crisis Affecting Millions Of Students by Meg Anderson and Kavitha Cardoza describes how mental health and the factors that comprise it cause bigger problems than people expect. With this being the case, many schools aren’t equipped to deal with these issues. To help make this argument, the authors employ use of logos with statistics to show how common the issue is and pathos with the story of a student. A student named Katie who suffered from depression and bulimia, mainly because of her school environment. She is a small drop in the ocean of those who suffer from mental health related issues. The authors are effective in using Katie’s story to emphasize the reality of someone who is struggling mentally because she didn’t have any friends and was bullied. Other students saw her as a loner and capitalized on that, perceiving her to be a “weirdo”. Although bullying might be a common cause for stress and anxiety, that doesn’t mean there aren’t more causes that could be just as common. 

Bullying and not having friends are only a part of the social aspects that cause stress in the school life of students. The academic aspect of school could be quite challenging and it can weigh heavily on their shoulders. In the article, “11 Common Causes of School Stress For Students”, Oxford Learning lists “lack of support, too much homework, heavy workload, transitioning to a new environment, classes that are too hard, etc”. Katie, whom the previous authors Anderson and Cardova use as their example, first started to develop stress and anxiety when she transferred to a new school in the middle of the year at the tender age of 8 years old. She exhibited one of the common stressors which was transitioning to a new environment and she wasn’t too sure on how to make friends. This made her act withdrawn and not socialize with others, therefore she spent recess or lunch time with teachers to “do work” when in reality she just didn’t want to be with other kids. It is ironic that she spent a lot of time with teachers but felt as if they didn’t care. The article by Anderson and Cardova describes this situation: “During all this time, she says, not a single principal or teacher or counselor ever asked her one simple question: “What’s wrong?“. This is especially useful to further the argument made by the authors because Oxford mentions how a lack of support could be detrimental and have a negative effect on a student in an academic environment. Although the Oxford article does list 11 common stressors of school, it only does so in the academic aspect and doesn’t mention a stressor that could be social. Katie’s account does mention her going from an honor roll student to then failing but it isn’t specified whether it was an academic stressor or a social stressor because after she put on weight was when she began to be bullied. The nature of these stressors can be a bit complicated and are not limited to the school environment.

Stressors and the effect they can have on a student could be spotted at home or they could pile up with things happening outside of school. Chris Iliades from Everyday Health lists some other stressors for students/teens including: “Demands of school or work, unsafe living conditions, unstable home environment, bullying, obesity, chronic illness, overly high expectations, negative thoughts and self-doubt”, some of which are what Katie experienced during the duration of her time as a student. This broadens the horizons on what students, especially high school students might possibly have on their plate because the teenage years are undoubtedly hard. It is a time when they are still developing emotionally and physically. 

“‘The adolescent brain is at a unique stage of development. It is a time when the brain is very sensitive and in the process of forming its wiring network. ‘Adolescent brains may be more sensitive to the stress hormone cortisol and may feel its effects more quickly. The part of the brain that is responsible for shutting down the stress response, called the prefrontal cortex, is less developed in adolescents, so stress may also be experienced for longer periods. ‘Among the most common types of mental illness in young adults that may be triggered by stress are schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, severe depression, and substance abuse’”. (Iliades)

Bipolar disorder, severe depression, and substance abuse are now more common in today’s era due to the seemingly increased difficulty of schools and other institutions. There is also the issue of students who are first generation college students. For these students, there are extremely high expectations set upon them to be able to accomplish great things and do well so that they may contribute more and provide for their family. All of these factors are taken into account when evaluating the argument of how stressor factors coupled with others are likely to be responsible for mental health issues that occur within students and teens. This issue is likely not even affecting just those who are high school/college students and teens.

A question that can arise from this is when do these factors that cause stress start affecting students and someone might say middle school because the curriculum indeed gets a bit challenging and the transition might affect a few of the students. This is right but there are instances where even kindergartners are under the stress of being in the classroom and doing well. The National Education Association starts off their article with an account of a kindergarten teacher, “Even the 4- and 5-year-olds in Marty Davis’ Utah kindergarten classroom get anxious. ‘We expect so much from them, and they feel the pressure,’ she said. ‘They’re like ‘I can’t!’ And I’m like [the Little Engine That Could, who says], ‘I think I can! I think I can! I think I can!’”. Although this is one account and doesn’t speak for all kindergartners, it shows a possibility of the likeliness of such a thing occurring.  At such a young age, children should be doing things that bring them joy and experiencing their childhood while they still have it because it may not last as long as they would want it to. The article also said, “In kindergarten, instead of making art and new friends, they learned to write full-on sentences in timed tests. Hours spent in art, music, physical education and recess were limited, or eliminated. For fun, these students attended pep rallies to pump them up for state testing”. These feelings can translate into elementary school then into middle school, then into high school and so on and so forth. It can be exhausting for many. “The NEA states “By high school and college, many students have run out of steam. Anxiety—the mental-health tsunami of their generation—has caught up with them. Today’s teens and young adults are the most anxious ever, according to mental-health surveys. They admit it themselves: In February, a Pew survey found that 70 percent of teens say anxiety and depression is a “major problem” among their peers, and an additional 26 percent say it’s a minor problem.” Regardless of whether a small portion said it was a minor problem, the numbers still indicate that it is still a problem. This problem is set into today’s setting where technology plays a much bigger role than it did many years ago when many didn’t have cellular devices simply because they weren’t as developed as they are now. With basically everything in the palm of your hand and the existence of social media, the stressors grew. NEA states “‘What happened so that so many more teens, in such a short time, would feel depressed, attempt suicide and commit suicide?’ wrote one of the study’s authors, San Diego State University professor Jean Twenge, in a Washington Post column. ‘After scouring several large surveys for clues, I found that all of the possibilities traced back to a major change in teens’ lives: the sudden ascendance of the smartphone.’ Teens who spend five or more hours online a day were 71 percent more likely than those who spent only one hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor, Twenge’s research found”. Bullying evolved into cyberbullying which then made it easier to harass students without having to see them in person and this can for sure do damage on a students self esteem and make them feel useless and these constantly feelings can lead to depression and/or at worse, suicide. 

Consequently, while the purpose of school is to educate the youth and teach them useful skills that they potentially use in the future, it may have more of a negative impact on its students than people might come to realize. Schoolwork and the expectations put on students to do their work and be able to do it well puts a toll on them and sometimes peers can add to that weight by bullying which has become increasingly easier with the cellphone all of which generate stress and anxiety and cause mental illness in them. A lot of the times, schools aren’t equipped to deal with such problems so it makes it harder to tend to the welfare of students. How much longer will it take for the school system to change so that it may actually benefit its students and to properly care for them in times of need?

Reflection:

I had trouble at first when coming up with a thesis so I just decided to go on ahead and start typing to brainstorm so that I could eventually come up with one. I knew what I wanted to argue but I just didn’t know how to say it in a way that would help me flesh out my paper to an extent. I had quite some trouble when looking for information because I thought that this topic would be pretty easy in acquiring information but since my topic is sort of recent, the information on it is somewhat limited. This of course meant that I had to discard a couple sources because at first glance they looked like they would be extremely helpful in what I was trying to argue but after a second and more thorough look, it became clear that the source wasn’t as good as I first thought it to be. My text lacked some information and it didn’t fully touch on the topic like how I wanted to but it was still good enough. The sources I used to support my thesis statement contribute to my argument each have their own attributes meaning they did something well in contributing to my argument and whatever information one source was missing, I made sure to find another source that would help fill in those gaps and the three sources I used all complete each other to an extent. 

Self Assessment:

Over the course of this class, I would say I have improved as a writer. Of course there could still be improvements made to further better myself as a writer. I learned how to give and receive feedback and use it towards my essays but I feel like I could give better feedback to my peers so that they could have much more useful constructive criticism to put towards their writing. Formulating a stance and maintaining it through my whole writing piece while acknowledging the counter argument is something I believe I did pretty well but of course would need improvement on. I felt that sometimes the counter arguments weren’t as cohesive as I wanted them to be. Although I may not have been good at revisions and editing, I have definitely picked up strategies that would help me do such tasks in a better manner. Using online databases wasn’t something I have done before so of course I had a bit of a problem doing so and it was in this course that I had actually done it for the first time but after taking my time navigating it, it became a bit easier to be able to use it the way I wanted it to.