Non Fiction Reading Post

        The article, "To Kill or Not to Kill" by Patricia Smith talks about how more recently the death penalty might be becoming less and less of a way to punish convicted murderers ect. It portrays two points of view. The author has a clear point of view which is that the death penalty is becoming less common.

                  I actually disagree with what the author says with the article. I believe that the death penalty is at an all time high. Even though it's not the same type of death brought to prisoners it still has the same result. Now usually someone on death penalty is killed by lethal injection rather than an electric chair. At one point the text says " Eighty seven precent of prisoners on the death penalty, are killed by lethal injection" This is just adding to my statement by showing statistics. All that has really changed about the death penalty is the way it is done, not the number in which it occurs.

                On the contrary there have been less deaths in the death penalty since 2000. Many prisoners  now get life sentences. This is where they spend the rest of their life in prison rather than getting killed immediately. One piece of text to support this fact is " Officials in prisons are becoming weary since people who witnessed deaths by lethal injection object to the statement made by Prisons which is that the lethal injections are painless" This piece of evidence shows that the death penalty is becoming suspicious based on witness accounts. This can possibly lead to the end of the death penalty.

              In conclusion the article does make a clear point that the death penalty is slowly disapearing. However, I believe that the death penalty is simply changing not ending but that it can possibly end in the future.

Trip Reading Response

          This past Wednesday our class went to the Museum of the City of New York.We spent our day there and I have to say it was a very educational trip. When we first went to the museum and studied the photos that was very interesting. I found it fascinating on a more personal level to see the photos of New York. But what I really learned out in the museum is activism. And since I come from a very political family this was perfect. Of course when asked which activism station I wanted to do I said Feminism.
     
           Studying the Feminism section of the exhibit really opened my eyes to different forms of Feminism. I learned about how New York City played a role in the act of Feminism in the early 20th century. On May 21, 1910 10,000 New Yorkers gathered inUnion Square to cheer for speakers demanding that women be granted the right to vote. I also learned a lot about what the struggle was like for women to get the right to vote. They came up with clever remarks that included some lines that tested stereotypes of women. One sign read " Are Politics Dirty? Call in the cleaning ladies!" This is kind of using the stereotype that all women clean and implying that since women pick up everything else after men why can't they do the same for politics.
         
           Overall I think I really benefitted from this exhibit. It helped me to see the evolution of women's rights and what women went through so that I would have the rights I have today. Especially being a young woman in today's society, this exhibit really helped me understand my role in society and how important it is.

"Crank" Reading Response

                                                    Reading Response
     
      For our book club unit I read " Crank" by Ellen Hopkins. These books ( Hopkins Books) are very grim and dark. We tried to in this unit figure out wether or not these books should be banned. In general I don't believe books should be banned because I feel that literature gives a new of learning about things even if they are heavy topics. I can see why people might want to ban these books but there is also big reason to keep them around.
     
     Ellen Hopkins books deal with a darker side of society. Her books focus around the subject of troubled teens. " Crank" tells a story about a young woman named Kristina who moves in with her dad after years of not being in contact with him. While she's staying there she meets a boy named Alex and slowly starts to fall in love with him. Unfortunately she doesn't realize he is addicted to Methamphetamine. As she spends more time with him she starts to develop the same addiction. The text at one point states " I watched him pour the powder, yellowish white.Use the blade to chop the chunks fine, draw two crooked lines" This text is describing drug use. I can see how some may find this inappropriate. It may influence teens or tell them it's okay to do drugs.

        Now although these books deal with heavy topics, they can also benefit people. These topics can warn people and also educate young adults about the troubles in the world. This text also may bring comfort for troubled teens and let them know they are not alone. I think these books are less about supporting drugs and dark behavior but more about educating people about them to prevent them from occuring. That is why I believe that these books should not be banned but rather looked as a learning tool.