Remember to post your NAME & PERIOD at the beginning of the post!
Chapter 5: Civil Rights. The following questions are geared to generate a narrative response. Write commentary on 3 out of 5 questions.
1. Read and Listen to the following story on the significance of the Obama election. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18489466
Do we live in a post-racial society?
2. Reflect on the changing diversity of Dover specifically and York county in general. How has this affected DHS and what do you see as potential benefits and probvlems in the future as Dover becomes more diverse?
3. Discrimination against gay students is a reality at DHS and around the country, but has these students become more accepted within schools? Read the NY times article and comment on gay rights and acceptance/limits for DHS and schools in the US.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/magazine/27out-t.html?_r=1&em
4. Should English be the required language in the US? As Hispanic citizens become more politically powerful, do you see other demographic changes in the future. Do you think government should offer voting information in other languages?
5. Starting on page 152, Affirmative Action is discussed. What is Affirmative Action and do you think the US still needs these programs. Look at the charts on 153--do Americans have contradictory views on the same issue? Should there be any other factors used for college admissions besides test scores, courses, recomendations and activities? Does race, sex or financial status matter?
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Jamie - Period 4 :]
ReplyDelete2. Diversity is spreading. As a matter of fact there is more and more of it everywhere. As far as it affecting DHS there will obviously be some potential bad situations considering the fact that there are still some people who cannot grasp the concept of being diverse. There will be fights, bullying and all of those pointless problems. Which, I'm not sure I quite understand. However, that's alright. Anyhow, for those who are willing and who do accept diversity it will certainly bring about benefits. Learning from other people from different backgrounds is what makes us grow and develop not only as people by ourselves, but as a whole community. It just seems silly in a way considering despite the fact that people are different, there still has to be problems. And sadly, sometimes those problems over come the benefits.
3. I really liked the end of that article! Anyhow, to comment on the actual question itself hm I would 100 percently say that gay students have become more accepted within schools. There are always going to be the people (just like the diversity question) that aren't going to accept this. Whether it is because they are against it for reasons such as religion or the fact that they could just be buttheads. You hear the buttheads all the time, and probably every day. I don't think its right. The one good thing about DHS though, is that despite the rude ignorant people (that you are going to have every where and in every school) there are a LOT now I don't mean just some I mean an asbolute TON of understanding people and people that accept this. I think the acceptance level of DHS is remarkable. I can't speak that for all schools though, considering some could just be full of the buttheads. Hm setting limits on the butthead schools. There's not much you can limit on though. This is one of those things where buttheads are going to be buttheads, no matter what. Certainly you should limit the bullying and harrasment, if there is some. Yet, that would have to be a school decision as to how to handle that. I believe that if this became a huge issue (which I don't think it is, but if I'm wrong correct me) than our student body should fix it. Not the school itself. No one wants to listen to the school (haha which sounds terrible, but isn't it the truth?). We can fix more if we stop it. It just seems silly for this to be an issure. I have several close gay friends and I don't view them any different than I do anyone else. The worlds an interesting place to live in, especially when we worry about matters like this, instead of huge important ones. If only everyone could accept everyone. I don't understand why we can't. Bah!
Haha this is also Jamie from period four but this part wouldn't post before? I don't know, anyhow here we go!
ReplyDelete:D
4. This is one question that I feel very stronlgy about. I don't think this question should even be asked. This is America and therefore the language should be the MAIN language that it has been for oh what? Thousands upon thousands of years. It seems as though all the time now you go somewhere and you can get fifty million different languages to chose from. "Would you like this in (insert 5000 language choices here). I just think that if we keep being so hmm willing to let this keep happening one day we'll just wake up speaking differently, and English wont even be up in the top three. So yes, I do believe that it should be the required language. I'm not AGAINST other languages not by any means nor do I think that we should not have several different languages. But it just seems like all of the other languages, are closing in. Well of course there are going to be demographic changes. Alright, lets see if we have a HUGE amount of hispanic political leaders, what do you think is going to come? Now, don't get me wrong I am ALL for diversity and everything else but as more and more come.. the more and more the English language suffers. Just by asking the last question about do I think government should offer voting information in other languages, allows me to KNOW and understand that there is a possibility that is just going to come up and overcome us. Well no, I don't meant to sound rude. I guess we can share languages, we do already. But we need a few limits and one of those limits should be the fact that the English language should be the required language. I have nothing else to say, and I don't go against other languages just other languages that are hm going to take over & throw the english language in a bucket.
Posting oceanside in Kitty Hawk, NC... =)
ReplyDelete1) I don't think we live in a postracial society quite yet. Remember, just 45-50 years ago we still separated the races in some states. These things take time. With racial diversity, comes conflict....
2) The changing diversity of the area is kind of nice ('Merica is the melting pot of the world, after all), but it comes at a price. Like I said above, with diversity comes different ideas, comes CONFLICT. A homogenous culture would be exceedingly boring, but diversity isn't all daisies and sunshine either.
3) Huh... that's all... huh.
4) As much as I hate government crap, I'm forced to say that English really should be our required language. People are free to speak whatever they desire at home, but they need to understand they shouldn't get special treatment in stores and such. Learn the most widely used language, please (not Spanish... yet). I'm with Jamie on the voting info thing. If it allows people to make informed decisions about voting instead of flipping a coin, eeny-meenie-miney-mo, or blindly picking the guy with an R or a D next to their name.
5) Heeeey... I fulfilled my 3 questions... besides, I lack motivation to open my book right now.
~Heather "I'm on the beach and you're not, suckers" Williams
The only one in DHS named Annelise, period 4.
ReplyDelete1. Not yet. I think we're coming along well and diversity is spreading, but there are still people who think that we should be separated by race and that black people are evil because they look different. While living in Dover, it's really hard to ignore people like this. While I don't think it's possible to kill this mindset permanently, I think that in later generations, we can become a post-racial society.
3. For the most part, yes. Most gay students are out of the closet and are generally well-liked by students. With the exception of the "Git 'er done/Trucker balls/ What do you mean the Union won?" folk (who will hate anything that is not straight, white, male, or killing deer), no one openly admits they hate gay people. But that in itself is a problem, because there are still huge homophobes in the school and people who protest it because of their own personal beliefs. I kind of wish they'd get over it and accept that not everyone has the same beliefs as them, but eh... you can't change everyone.
4. I believe that, if someone wishes to live in America for an extended period of time, they should learn English. I think it should be declared the national language, because it is the most widely understood language. Since American children only learn English and no other languages before they 'stick', few native citizens are bilingual. If the nation wanted to become bilingual and have children begin to learn Spanish at schools, then I'd be all for having no national language-- but at the moment, it's easier to have a small portion of the population learn a language than the majority of the nation.
...And I'm really sorry if this makes no sense, I'm a bit tired right now. |D
Nicole Lucas Period 4
ReplyDelete1. I don't think we live in a post-racial society. I agree that racism has gone down tremendously over the years, but it still exists today. There are people that didn't vote for Obama and don't like him as our President because of his race.
2. There has definately been more diversity in Dover over the past few years. When I was in elementary school, everyone was white and there really wasn't much diversity. Now you have many different ethnicities in our high school. Because of there being more diversity in the school and different ethnicities, you can learn from them about their culture and whatnot. The diversity also leads to fights between different groups of people, being a down side of diversity in York county.
4. I think English should be the required language in the United States. It is the language which every American citizen speaks, or if you move to America from another continent, you are required to learn English. I don't think our government should offer voting information in other languages. This is America, and you are supposed to know English or understand it. If your not willing to learn our language, then we shouldn't give them a benefit by putting things in their language for them to understand.
Nicole Lucas Period 4
ReplyDelete@ Jamie
I COMPLETELY agree with you that english should be our main language and that we shouldn't have soo many language choices to choose from. We live in America so immigrants should learn English.
@ Annelise
I agree that we aren't in a post-racial society yet, but that with time, we can become a post-racial society. Because like you said, there are those people that want us to be separated by race.
St. Clair Simmons, pd. 4
ReplyDeleteWe don't live in a post-racial society. There's no doubt about that. I don't think we as humans can function in one. Every person has different beliefs, and among those beliefs are beliefs about race. As long as people have different beliefs about race, we can't live in a post-racial society. A post-racial society, as explained in the NPR article, could never be. There will always be people who can't see a black man or a man of another race as president.
2. York county and Dover have been becoming more mixed especially in the recent past. One of the problems that could possibly come from this is racial tension. With diversity comes problems stemming from diversity. If an area is pretty much only one race, noone stands out racially. Some problems that could come up could be things like unfairness, affirmative action, stereotyping, discrimination, and other racy things. There is good that can come out of it too. For example, if there are enough of a certain minority of students in a certain grade, the school would have to make AYP for them, something that it hasn't really focused on for minority students.
This isn't part of a blog answer, just a side note. People seem to direct problems that are problems of people of a certain race to the fact that those people are that race. Many just assume that a higher black population in a place like Dover will just bring down the value of neighborhoods and fill up the practical alg. class. It is true that many black people who move in are very stereotypical of what people perceive black people to be--loud, no work ethic, bouncing around listening to rap and hip-hop in jeans that are too low. These kinds of things just affirm these stereotypes in people's heads. I believe, though, that these people act in cerain way not because of race, but because of where they come from. Many people come from places like Baltimore. It's about upbringing. Black people aren't genetically ghetto.
4. I think English should be the national language of the US. I think it's simple. Most people speak English. That's how they base national languages in other countries, so they should do it here.
Katelyn Owens, pd. 4
ReplyDelete#1
I would love to think that we do live in a post-racial society, but it’s sad that in reality we don’t. The issue of race isn’t as big as it was back in the 60’s. We don’t have designated doorways, water fountains, sections of buses etc… for people of different races. Now you can say that the majority of people are post-racial but to be completely post-racial the society as a whole has to not racist at all. I know that there is a stereotype that the “south” has always been the most racist. But I think that stereotype holds true. People who have lived through the 60’s and grew up with treating people of a unlike race differently still have that state of mind. It might not be as prominent as it was back then but that state of mind is still there. But I definitely think that Americans are improving on the fact that they aren’t as nearly racist as they use to be.
#4
I think that English should be the required language in the US. I don’t know what else there is to say besides the fact that I think voting information should be in English. All of our political leaders know how to speak and understand English. You should too. Yes I think that we might need to learn a little of another language so we aren’t so close minded, but I don’t believe we need to be fluent in that language.
#5
Affirmative Action basically ensures that woman, minorities, and other usually deprived groups have full and equal opportunities in employment, education, and other areas of life. I believe that the US still needs these programs but in doing so they shouldn’t give them preferential treatment. They should be treated just as equal as the “white man”. If everyone was on that same level there would be no need for preferential treatment. I believe colleges are becoming more diverse, especially the state colleges. I think that is a good sign for America. Your race or sex shouldn’t matter. But unfortunately, in some private colleges financial status does matter. If you have lots of money you can pay for a private college. I believe that your financial status shouldn’t have an impact on whether colleges look at you or not.
Katelyn Owens, pd. 4
ReplyDelete@ St. Clair
I agree with your point that people stereotype people on how they’ve seen them act. But that doesn’t mean that all of them act that way. I also agree on that people act differently depending on their upbringing. You make a very good point there.
@ Nikki Lucas
I totally agree with you on how people should be required to learn English. You wanted to move here to the US, you should learn our language too. If you wanted to have our voting information in your language then you should’ve stayed where you came from.
Jeff Harman, Period 4
ReplyDelete1. I believe that we today do not live in a post-racial soceity and I believe that we never will. There has been a massive decline in racism today, but you can still see some. There will always be a handful of ignorant individuals who will be racist and there is nothing we can do to change their minds thats why we should focus on controlling it as it would be impossible to completely eliminate it.
2. I am sure it is clear to everyone that diversity is spreading throughout Dover and the rest of York County. It is very possible that there will be several problems with the diversity. We could see racial tensions rise resulting in fights and other forms of bullying. The positive side of diversity is that the students could learn about different cultures and possible become more accepting of them.
4. I think that English clearly should be the the national language. Everything in our country is done in English and that what we all understand. Our country was founded using English by our founding fathers and it still should be used today.
Jeff Harman Period 4
ReplyDelete@ Jamie
I agree with you completely about the new diversity in Dover. You make a good point saying that the benefits of diversity don't out-weight the problems, which I think is very true.
@ Katelyn
You are completely right about English being our national language. We have always spoken it and it is "unofficially" the national language so why not just make it official.
Taylor Shenberger, Period 1
ReplyDelete2. Dover is definitely becoming more and more diverse. It used to be just a bunch of farming hicks but now it's them plus people from more urban york areas and from Maryland too. I believe that DHS has had an increase of racism (mainly from the hicks), because now they have an opportunity to act on the way that they felt beforehand. I also believe that there are more gang affiliations in Dover. I mean, there are some people who now consider themselves part of a gang, but I don't really think it means much because if you live in Dover theres not really any gang activites that you can take part in. Dover might not be known as the hick school as much in the future, but i believe until the hicks face reality we will still have some problems.
3. I believe that gay students have been more accepted at schools. Back in the day kids would have had the crap beaten out of them, but now they're just looked down upon most of the time. I believe that gays should be treated the same way that any other couples are, and I believe at Dover we reached the point where they are. Many people say that Dover is disciminating against gays, when really it's not. I see gay couples kiss all the time in the hallways, but they don't get yelled at or they will say that they are discriminated against. I also see some gay people outwardly being obnoxious about what they think and they complain when they get treated differently, but that would happen with anyone who is obnoxious, gay or straight.
4. I believe that English should be a required language in the US. Many people say that America is made of different cultures so all languages should be accepted, but until now almost every group has learned the English language.I mean, even our consitution is in English, so that's what the framers wanted. This costs companies a lot of money beacuse they have to provide information in both English and Spanish, since there is no national or language. I can see there being more and more of a push against a national English language as more and more immigrants have children who become of age to vote against that idea. I think the government should save money and just offer voting information in English.
ReplyDelete@ Jeff- I agree with you. If the founding fathers wanted us to speak a variety of languages we would have the Constitution in a variety of languages. We don't.
ReplyDelete@ Annelise- I agree that if children learned spanish it would be a little easier to have a bilinguil country, and I agree that since we don't learn it that we should just make the minority learn the language of the majority. Good thoughts.
Jamie period 4.
ReplyDeleteTaylor!
I agree with what you said, especially about how Dover has reached the point where we do not discriminate against gays. I like how you mentioned the fact that you see gay couples kiss in the hallway all the time and sure they may get some looks, but no one makes a big deal out of it.
Jeff!,
I like all of the points you made about our world not being in a post racial society. You're absolutely right, we should be trying to control the issue rather than rid it because in reality we cannot change the mind sets of everyone. Very very good point.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteRobert Schmuck, Period 4
ReplyDelete1. As a whole, I don't believe we will ever live in a post-racial society. While it is true that an increasing majority of Americans are looking beyond the race of a person, a majority in and of itself still doesn't describe society. There are and always will be individuals and groups of people on both sides who, for some reason or another, refuse to see through the fact that a person's race doesn't define them. In some instances, it's because of the person's upbringing, that they were raised to hate people of a different race. In other cases, it's the way they identify themselves. The best example is self-proclaimed 'rednecks', or 'hicks' or whatever you want to call them. Whether they truly are racist or not, they have always known themselves by that title, and along with it comes hating African Americans. If they didn't have that identity, most wouldn't know what to do with themselves or how to live. On the other side of the issue, people (especially racist individuals) will always give others a reason to hate them. The best example for this is how black people are often described as 'ghetto'. Even if a potential racist sees past the fact that they're black, they may still be stopped by the fact that they're too ghetto. And not all black people are ghetto, of course. Like St. Clair said, some were brought up like that, and also, they identify themselves that way. They think they have to act ghetto because they don't know how not to.
2. Dover has been becoming significantly more diverse as of late. A small trickle of African Americans have been coming up from Baltimore, but for the most part the biggest change has been the increasing number of Hispanics, though the impact hasn't been too significant, other than requiring additional funding for ESL programs, though that starts to get into number four. The biggest problem that will likely arise will be what everyone else said, racial tensions. Also like what everyone else has said, the biggest benefit is the cultural diversity it brings. It's just a matter of whether or not the people of Dover really want to learn about other cultures, which I doubt.
4. It would be pretty nice if English was made the official language of the country, but of course saying that does make a person sound somewhat narrow-minded and lazy because they don't want to learn a knew language like almost everyone else in the world. And languages like Spanish are very culturally important, especially in certain areas, like New Mexico. But besides this, making English official would have both benefits and detriments, especially financially. The biggest cost would be money going into English as a second language classes. But it would also make it cheaper for businesses to make things like manuals or signs, because they wouldn't feel as obligated to restate everything in 50 different languages, though many still would simply because not everyone would speak English anyway (which would mean less money from non-English speakers). And far as voting goes I think a person almost has to say that they think voting information should be provided in multiple languages, because if it weren't, it may very well deter potentially voters who don't speak English well, which is in a way discrimination or fixing the voting process. But not really. And as far as the thing about Hispanics in politics and demographics, I'm pretty sure no one really knows what that question means or how to adequately answer it, so I won't either.
1. Well I do kind of agree with that little speech. It's true that race is not as big of a deal in today's society as it once was. However, it is still a problem. We have so many people out there who have listened to their older relatives on how colored people are not equal. Certain people take it to the extreme and don't make their own opinions on black people because they assume from how they were raised that they are all bad people. I like the last statement that says how we are more color blurred than color blind which shows that he actually knows the problem isn't fully fixed. I wouldn't say we live in a post racial society because there are too many people that still bigots for no apparent reason. We have a lot of trouble especially in our town with racial differences. The colored people today do have a much better chance and more rights than many did during the rights movement, but we are not fully changed and I find it hard to believe that we ever will be. It is sad to say though because it makes me ashamed that people cannot see past color because we are all just people.
ReplyDelete2. In the past few years, our diversity has changed greatly. I'm not exactly sure why all of a sudden we had such a change but in the long run it will hopefully be a good thing. Eventually people coming through our schools will not find it odd that we have a diverse group so they will accept it as normal. This means there should be less discrimination because they will be brought up knowing that we are a diverse group. The bad thing is right now because of our area. In our schools today we have many people that are extremely predjudice based on how they have been brought up. Many people in this area are ignorant because they will not take the time to get to know a real person because they have been "taught" that they are not worth anything. Every person is different so I wish people would stop walking around like they are better than black people or and people for that matter. That is the negative part of our new found diversity because no one here is accepting. It gives all of us a bad reputation and they wonder why they call us hicks...
4. I think basically that to make it in this country you need to know English. It shouldn't be mandatory to know it, but it is needed to get by. I think we can help out people who are learning by printing things in both languages because it's not hurting anything it's just helping. Once again we are a very unaccepting nation when it comes to this because we think that people need to adjust to us. I agree with that at some points, but think of other nations. Depending on the area there are different languages that are dominant. It isn't going to kill our nation if we are diverse and have two languages printed to help out voters and let everyone have a chance.
Posting from the kitchen table:
ReplyDelete@St. Clair
I completely agree with you on the post racial thing. With differing beliefs comes conflict; always, for all time.
@Katelyn
Yeah, that's kinda why I don't completely agree with stuff like Affirmative Action. Too often it leads to overly favoring the "oppressed group." As long as they are treated EQUALLY, though, it's a pretty good idea.
~Heather "I need the old blade runner" Williams
o oops i forgot to put my name on my first entry it's Abby Eldredge pd 1
ReplyDelete@ robert for # 4. I agree on a lot of points you made with the language. Especially with the voting. It would help make electing more acurate as to what they people want. You comments are much more detailed and sound better than what I had.
@ Katelyn for #1 I agree on everything you said in that. It sounds like what I said. People are much better off today than they were once but not everyone is changed.
@Jeff- You are spot on about post-racial societies, unfortunately. No matter how hard we try, it would be impossible to cleanse the nation of racism.
ReplyDelete@Taylor- Agreed on English being the official language. You hit the nail right on the head there--it would just be easier.
Abria Donato period 4
ReplyDeleteThis is definitely not a post racial society yet. Stereotypes are still strong in people’s minds even on an unconscious level. We are moving toward a post racial society, but that will take some time to achieve.
Diversity is definitely spreading and with it comes its ups and downs. On the good side diversity brings different ideas, uniqueness, and makes the country all around more exciting and interesting. On the down side, with different ideas comes conflict and fights because of ethnicity, religion and ideas do break out. Our school has seen these same effects. With the growing diversity came new ideas and conflicts over those ideas.
I think that gay students have become more accepted within schools and in general. More and more people are viewing this sort of issue with a you-do-what-you-want-to-with-your-life-and-I’ll-do-what-I-want -with-mine sort of attitude. The existence of a GSA in Dover is more evidence of the acceptance of gays in schools.
English should be the required language in the US. Anywhere else you go in the world, you should know something about the language of the country you are visiting. True, chances are you can find someone who speaks English, but it is appreciated by the locals if you know some of the language. If you don’t, you can come off as ignorant. On the subject of offering voting information in different languages, I don’t really think that that’s right. If you’re voting for a US presidential candidate, and you don’t speak English, there’s something wrong. True, America is the melting pot of the world and there are many different languages spoken here, but the majority of the population speaks English, and some people are bilingual. Point is, if you move to a different country, learn to speak the main language of that country.
I posted on four questions! I’m an over achiever
@ Heather
Kitty Hawk? I’m jealous, Heather!
Anyway, I agree strongly about our country’s main language. It most definitely should be English. And about voting, they should know English because then they can make informed decisions rather than picking the candidate based simply on party or whim.
@Katelyn
It would be nice to live in a post racial society, a lot of the problems we have now would be immaterial. Even though we do still live in a racial society, you have pointed out that things have gotten better. While racism is still here, we are moving toward a post racial society.
Savannah Gilmore Period 4
ReplyDelete1. No, of course we don't live in a post-racial society. It would be extremely naive and ignorant to think we do. At the same time things are drastically different than they were even a few years ago. The election of Obama showed that race was less of an issue, but the numerous news articles and talk in regards to his race confirmed that no, this is not a post-racial society.
3. I think there's definitely a much higher tolerance level of gay students, but I'm not sure that necessarily translates into acceptance. There's no question that it's more acceptable than it was even ten years ago, but there's still a high level of discrimination. It seems to me that people are more likely now to be polite when talking directly with someone openly gay, but they'll still snigger the moment that person turns his/her back.
4. I don't think English really needs to be made the official langugage as it's already assumed to be more or less just that. I see no issue with offering alternate languages (primarily Spanish) alongside English. As Americans are notorious for speaking only the English language, I can't imagine that requiring any other language would go over well.
@ Heather
Bringing up that only about half a century ago society was still segregated is a good point. It's a relatively short amount of time.
@ Robert
It didn't occur to me to think of the financial impact of making English the official language. I think you're right that businesses would feel like they had to print several languages on their signs or instructions.
Kenneth Wisman, Period 1
ReplyDelete1.)I personally believe that we don't live in a post racial society because people still discriminate against others becuae of their tace in areas such as the work place and schools. People just can't help but think that we're still not equal, but seeing how Barrack Obama has become president, things seem to be changing. But as like everything else, it will take time for people to realize that we are all equal, but it has gotten better since a few decades ago. This said, people will always have some sort of stereotype to say, but at least they won't have malice when they say it like some people do yoday in our society.
2.)During the past few years many new kids have come to Dover, and with them diversity, and this affects our school in a number of ways. It kind of acts like a double-edged sword for the most part, but it could be different with others. People will start to realize that there is more to someone than just the color of their skin or how they act, and new barriers will be broken. Kids will open up more with other students and discrimnation will be a thing of the past, but these actions will take time to accomplish. For now though, people will just make fun of someone because their different and with all the new people coming to Dover, this could mean bad news.
3.)To be honest, I think that gays are still not being accepted in our school or any other school because people just don't understand what goes through their heads, and this is a bad thing for some who just want to be accepted. I believe that everyone should just leave them alone and not bully them just because they're different and they would be accepted by more people if the bullies aren't there to put them in a bad light.
4.)I definitely believe that english should be the main language in the United States because that was the language that was originally spoken when settlers first came to America. People who don't speak english should learn it before they get here or while they're here so it doesn't cause confusion with anybody who doesn't speak the language. Also it wiould just make things easier all around because communication wouldn't ever be a problem anywhere.
5.)Ok, I can't take another question because my brains gonna explode so see ya all on the flipside! HAHAHAHAHAHA! FREEDOM...oh god I forgot, I still have to comment, CRAP!
@Heather
I totally agree with what you said about everyone speaking english. Yes I believe it's ok to sperak their language in the confines of their home, but in public, they should speak english.
@Robert
You are sooo right about us never living in a post racial society because the bad people will never change their evil ways. This will make it hard for others to accept the diversity if some people are against it.
Now I AM free! HAHAHAHAHAHA!
Tasha Karl
ReplyDeleteprd. 1
2. I think the whole thing about people of different race coming into the school, is that people tend to stay with people that are like them. HAve you ever noticed in the gym that black people sit in a huge group and white people sit everywhere else. Yes there is the few white people sitting with the black people or vice-versa, but other than that they stay with their groups. I think a good thing that Dover is coming more diverse is that it allows the younger kids to be experienced to different cultures, not just the white ones, but all kinds. One bad thing is that they all cling to their own groups so that could present a problem to learning about the different types of people.
3. I think that gays have gotten a little more freedom, I mean tehy are a little more accepted now. I do know people, as I'm sure you do, can't stand guys, they will make fun of or any thing that can hurt them.
4. I do not think that you need to fully know the whole english, but as long as you can get by knowing a few phases and words you are fine. I do think that we should offer other language in the government, they are with us also.
Mariah Snyder pd 4
ReplyDelete1. I don't think we live in a post-racial society just yet. Maybe in the future, things will change. Maybe they won't. There are still very racist people who will discriminate against others. Honestly, i don't think we will ever live in a post-racial society. Even though the racism and discrimination has gone down quite a bit, i don't think it will ever be fully gone.
2. York county and Dover have become more diversified over the years. This has pros and cons to it. It is an opportunity to learn other cultures and learn to get along with others. It can also cause tension and conflict as well, since we are all known to be "hicks" (which i think its stupid.). I also think the conflict comes with the minority always being defensive.
4. I definitly think English should be a required language in the United States. I think if you are a tourist or just coming to visit, then its fine if you don't know English. But come on, if you work in the United States, LEARN ENGLISH. there is nothing more annoying than trying to speak to someone who doesn't know what your talking about, yet they work here ? No, i don't really tink its necessary to offer voting information in other languages.
Mariah Snyder pd 4
ReplyDelete@Robert: I like the piont you came up with about how making English a required language would minimize costs for businesses. I never really thought of that, but it is a good piont .
@Jeff: True piont. People are very ignorant and i think thats where racism stems from. Generations upon generations, people are taught the wrong way to think about minorities. It will never be eliminated, but the least we could try to do is control it, like you said.
Claire Bleecker Period 4
ReplyDelete2. Obviously Dover has become more diverse. There have definitely been racial tensions resulting from this but I think for the most part people are become and will become more accepting of it. If a kid is raised in a racist household and is all of the sudden exposed to diversity at first they will probably act hostile. However, due to civil rights, they cannot do legally do anything to harm them or infringe on their rights. So they either have to try and ignore the minority or make peace with diversity. I believe the latter is more likely to happen although there will always be those few that slip through still as racist as their parents. Increasing diversity can only be good for Dover in the long run, in my opinion!
3. It surprises me how few times I hear about gay people getting discriminated against at DHS, while every time the subject is brought up many people seem very uncomfortable and often confrontational. I think the same thing will eventually happen with homosexuality as what will happen with racial diversity, though.
4. I don't think English should be the required language. I definitely think voting information should be offered in different languages, as well as anything that would deal with immediate safety or overall well-being. As for businesses feeling obligated to print things is different language, I think they should use their own discretion. If they don't feel it necessary to offer text in another language then they shouldn't do it. But if they notice that they have a large say hispanic customer base, then they should probably print everything in Spanish as well. And if a hispanic business has a mostly Spanish speaking customer base then I don't think they should have to print everything in English. I do not feel that it is a civil right to have your language available to you everywhere you go.
Savs,
ReplyDeleteGood point about tolerance not necessarily meaning acceptance. I do think tolerance is the first step though. And great usage of the word snigger!
Jamie,
I do not think English will be (in your words) "thrown into a bucket" until English speakers become the minority. And if that does happen I think that that English definitely should be thrown into a bucket. If we go by everything we've done for the past thousands of years then there would be no progression in this country. The Framers never imagined the communication and transportation availabilities that we have today, and so could never imagine the massive demographic change. So I don't think you have to worry about an overthrow of the English language anytime soon, but in the meantime I just think people should be more accepting of the language diversity that has been increasing in the country.
Kyle Huntsberry pd. 4
ReplyDelete2. I hoestly dont see any positives in Dover becoming more diverse. I mean i dont mean to sound racist, cuz im not, but i really dont. Possible problems, could be gang fights and drugs and other possible problems. Many people may also start racial fights.
3. Here in Dover i dont think that gay's have become more acceptable but across the country, now thats a different story. I don't like gay people. I realize that they are people to and i respect them, but i dont respect their choice...... Unless they are women! ;P
4. I think that they should have to learn English. Damnit! If you're coming to
America you should learn english. If im going to japan im sure im going to lear japanese before i go. The japanese would probably feel the same way i do, if i werent to know the language, in the case of spanish people coming here and not knowing english. If i go somewhere i expect myself to understand that language so i could interact with the people there. It pisses me off to see people go into wal-mart and be like "Como estas?" Screw that!
@Mariah
Good point with the minority always seeming to be sooo defensive. :)
@Dragonlover, ooops i meant kenny
Why so defensive of gays? hmmmmmm.....
Thomas Boyer Pd 4
ReplyDelete1. I OBJECT TO THE STATEMENT "COLORBLIND VOTERS" !!!... anyways... Other than me being colorblind, I believe that we don't live in a completely post-racial society, but if you put in enough effort, no one can argue with your race.
2. Last year we had many racial arguements with many African-American's moving in from places like Baltimore. My Bus is now made up of mostly people from other cultures and different regions with the new developments. This has affected us by having a more diverse culture, classes (Russian and Japanese through distance learning) but on the negative side more sensitivity when talking about different subjects.
3. I believe that being gay is more accepted now, and that the GSA is one major symbol of this. Before everyone would be all "HE IS GAY!!" but now it is just shrugged off as not that strange. Isn't completely okay to be gay, but when has it been completely okay to be something different than the rest of the population? Back in the day being left handed could make you shunned.
4. I believe the government should hold up the rights of the people, and let it remind people that some countries have multiple official languages. With many hispanics, many things are already translated to spanish, so why not voting? I believe that having an official language should handicap other people, but help them decide what to know and learn.
5. Affirmative action is ensuring minorities more rights in daily life. I believe that they should stay, but not be strengthened. Nowdays many hispanics come with hardly any education, and in figure 5-6 this is reflected in the income, and not by their race. The views are contradictory because some facilities will go to a point of hiring minorities over better qualified majorities just to improve their "numbers". I believe that schools shouldn't have to know your race, and that the rights of minorities should be protected but not the reason to make decisions directly.
Thomas Boyer pd 1.
ReplyDelete@Kyle
Ha.... Diversity isn't totally negative. Diversity has helped make the United States what it is, and I see that you support lesbians...:P .It takes guts to even say you are gay, and lying to everyone and yourself is as bad a choice as what you would deem as being abnormal.
@Heather
That isn't an answer!! Huhh is something Kyle would say, but he somehow ended up going for the lesbians in a non serious answer.
Corey Pool Pd.1
ReplyDelete2. The main change that York County is seeing in diversity I think is not seen by many. This is because the transition in diversity is mostly in York city. Yes there is a slight increase within schools such as DHS but York is still far from completely diverse. Some problems could occur with an increase in diversity. Racism has seemed to emerge more and violence has happened. A benefit would be simply that we are more diverse. And that’s something some schools in York couldn’t say.
3. I don’t think that gay acceptance has gone up much at all. There’s just less protesting and controversy over it. There is still name calling, discrimination, and hatred. I think people still feel the same and don’t accept it but they don’t worry about it nearly as much unless it affects them directly. I think that the limits toward gay rights in DHS depend on the people. If they keep it to themselves or away from others who want nothing to do with it its fine. And for that whole article on the kid coming out in middle school is ridiculous. At that age you don’t fully understand what sexuality is. Most people don’t till an older age, it’s a phase.
4. I think that America should require English as the language loosely. If you’re coming to this English-based country for good then you should at least attempt to learn English. I think there could be a small amount of change dealing with demographic changes but very few. NO way should the government offer different languages for info for voting. If you want to be part of our English-based government, a government that was founded by Englishmen, then you need to learn enough to vote.
Lamar Lehman pd 1
ReplyDelete2. Dover has become increasingly diverse of the past couple of years, mainly with people from B-More coming up. I've talked to people from other schools and they have the same thing so I guess its happening across the entire county. This has affected DHS tremendously with basically increased racism. You have people that are all the sudden country and racist because they don't like all of the new people coming here. Benefits could be that we less believe the stereotypes of blacks and hispanics we've seen on tv, but so far that hasn't happenend. Problems will be increased racism. There was already racist people here of course, but now many more or joining them just because they don't like the way things are now.
I guess gay students are more accepted throughout schools. I mean they have friends and all, but there are always gonna be people who are scared of and avoid gay people and just generally don't like them and don't want them in our school. I guess gay people have a decent amount of rights in our school and our country. Maybe they are looked down upon but its not like there are gay bashings going on or anything.
4. English should definitely be a national language. We are too soft on foreigners. We should not be required to learn how to hablo espanol. They should learn our language. That's just the way it is. If you wanna come here then learn our language. That's how other countries do it and thats how we should do it.
Corey Pool Pd.1
ReplyDelete@Savannah
I completely agree with you. There isn’t as much but the discrimination is still there. It always will be. Just because I’m polite to someone doesn’t mean I like them or agree with any of their views. There’s just more common curtsey.
@Taylor
I don’t agree with you about gays being more accepted at schools. Just because gays aren’t being beaten up at DHS doesn’t mean anything. I bet you there are a lot of people that wouldn’t mind beating up the gay kids at our school. They don’t want to deal with the problems afterwards. At a lot of other schools gay kids are beaten up constantly.
Lamar Lehman pd 1
ReplyDelete@ Tom Boyer
I completely disagree with your statement of having multiple languages. That's bogus. If you wanna come to America speak English.
@Abby
I understand where you are coming from, but it is hard to not understand some people when they see the stereotypes coming true everyday in school. Also, that works both ways, The Baltimore people were brought up in the hood, and now they need to get over it, You live in Dover now, you're not gonna do a drive by on anyone, so stop acting like your in the ghetto.
Alex Cost period 4
ReplyDelete1. No we do not live in a post racial society. Plain and simple.
2. Though there is still a majority white population, the population of different diversities walking our hallways. So slowly but surely we are getting more and more diverse.
3.I do think that gay acceptance has gone up. Though there is still obviously people who are anti-gay. In DHS itself acceptance hasn't gone up very much, however people in general have shaped up a lot in their acceptance
4. I think we DO need a universal language, so why not stick with English?
1. I believe that we today do not live in a post-racial soceity and I believe that we never will. There has been a massive decline in racism today, but you can still see some. There will always be a handful of ignorant individuals who will be racist and there is nothing we can do to change their minds thats why we should focus on controlling it as it would be impossible to completely eliminate it.
ReplyDelete2. York county and Dover have become more diversified over the years. This has pros and cons to it. It is an opportunity to learn other cultures and learn to get along with others. I also think the conflict comes with the minority always being defensive.
4. I do not think that you need to fully know the whole english, but as long as you can get by knowing a few phases and words you are fine. I do think that we should offer other language in the government, they are with us also.
@ Kenny
Why so defensive in number 3 kenny
@St. Clair
I completely agree with you on the post racial thing.
Jenny Napierskie PD 1
ReplyDelete2)
Every year Dover gains more people, adding more diversity to our school district. This has many potential benefits and possible problems. More culture and more diversity is a good environment to learn in, according to my opinion. More language classes would be needed for students who do not speak english as a first language, which means more money is to be spent.
3)
I think because of all the negativity in the world, people have become over-accepting. What this means is that it seems in a situation dealing with discrimination against gays, no matter what the situation, the gays have the rights. This can be good for them, but not for us. I feel a second anti-racial movement coming, only about gays.
4)
Americans are by far the laziest country in the world when it comes to speaking different language. People should be taught spanish, english and any other main language depending on the area. Our laziness should not affect those who live in the united states who want to participate in our activites such as voting.
@ Katelyn
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you in terms of affirmative action. Minorities should be treated with equal, not preferential, treatment. By offering things exclusive too minorities, it is very easy to make things unfair for the average "white male." A good example would be for scholarships. There are dozens of scholarships out there offered exclusively to certain ethnic or minority groups. Laqueishria O'neil could get a full ride through college while John Smith's working night and day to pay for an education simply because he's average.
@ Abby
I think you overestimate the racism of Dover. Sure there are some people, but not most. Most older people who grew up around this area never had much interaction with the civil rights movement and race riots in the mid century. So, saying someone was brought up to be racist isn't a very good reason. They simply act that way because that's the way their friends are or they get attention that way. And how many 'gangs' have you seen walking around Dover (not that you can really call them gangs)? The only groups I've seen all have at least a few white people or the other way around, so race can't be a very big issue. And how many race fights have you seen? I can remember one I actually saw that took place during lunch between a black kid and a white kid. Racism? I would say yes except for the fact that the white kid sat at the table with almost all black kids.
Alex,
ReplyDeleteEnglish is on the 3rd most spoken language in the world, so if we are to have a universal one, it would sadly have to be chinese.
Tahi Pd. 4
ReplyDelete2. York county in general is getting more diverse as the years go by. I remember in elementary school when there were barely any non-white students in Dover. Now, as a junior in high school, our school has accelerated in diversity. This has affected Dover in positive and negative ways. In a positive manner, we have more student athletes, smarter people to make our school look better, new ideas in our town and school to make it a better place. Also having diversity opens up minds to see different cultures and different view points on certain things. The negative aspects would be that some people that have grown up in Dover their whole life would have to change to the new lifestyles of the people coming in. Also they tend to have a more closed mind, so they don’t really opt for change. Differences may cause disputes. I personally think that the diversity has opened new doors to us.
3. First off, it should be “have these students…” Yes, discrimination against gay students is a real situation. I think that they’re becoming more accepted. There are some people who haven’t accepted gays, and probably never will…I think they need to accept it. I think that if people want to be gay, they should be gay. It’s not my problem so I don’t really think I should judge them. I was shocked by the news article. How can people know that they’re gay at such a young age??? It was informing, yet it was still disturbing. Gay rights vary in different states. In our school, I think people don’t care…a majority don’t at least. And there are the others that are not for it. Same-sex marriage is illegal in some states, but now 13 states have approved of same-sex marriage. Also the military has a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
4. Ummm…no duh English should be the required language for the United States. What are they supposed to speak? Hebrew? Arabic? Mandarin Chinese? Spanish? NOOO. I do see some changes in the future as our Hispanic population grows. I think that Spanish may be a required course for students to take since there are so many Spanish people here, it may be necessary for them. On the other side, I think that everyone should be required to know English in order to live here (ironically this is coming from a foreigner). There may be more Hispanic that come to political power, and we may even have a Hispanic president someday. Who knows? I don’t think the government should offer voting info in other languages. Why? Well here’s the most overheard phrase known to Americans. If they live in America, they should know how to speak English.
@ Lamar
I agree with both of your comments at Abby and Tom. haha
@ Savannah
I agree with you on what you said about #2. Even if you are nice to so and so, doesn't mean you like them. Your just being nice. Basically, i'm repeating what Corey said.
Tahi Khan pd. 4
ReplyDelete@ Tom
well i disagree with you when you say it isn't completely okay to be gay. I think it's the person's choice and we shouldn't judge them. What they do doesn't affect us, so we shouldn't tell them what's okay and what's not okay.
St. Clair Simmons pd. 4
ReplyDelete@ Mariah
I think it's funny how you made a defensive statement and then accused minorities of being defensive. I think that's an example of generalizing minorities to people who are defensive. You just accused everyone except whites of being defensive. It's generalizations like that and not thinking about what you are saying that creates conflict. Now, people say that black people are defensive. Well, lots of white people would say that about minorities. But the truth is that white people don't know what it's like to be black or any other minority. White Americans don't have a history of being lynched unrightfully and being stripped of their rights because of the color of their skin. White people around here don't have to worry about being frowned upon or looked at funny because of their race. White people don't have to worry about what they say so that it's not taken in a bad way or in a way that would affirm a stereotype. White people aren't generally looked at suspiciously when they walk in an establishment. White people don't have as much to be defensive about as minorities do, besides being called "hicks".
A person who was beaten as a child may flinch. Is that the fault of the person?
Now, on the other hand, some minorities do play the race card.
@ Kyle
The first thing you wrote was absolutely stupid. More diversity will result in gang fights? I'm sorry, but I don't think you know what a racist really is. A racist discriminates people, like you just did. You just said that just because people are minorities, they will start gang fights. I think that's a very racist statement.
@ A lot of people
How can you say that diversity is a way to experience new cultures? There are two big things wrong with that.
1. Do you expect people, because they are minorities, to come in with traditional African clothes or kimonos and dance around and be geishas and expose everyone to new cultures? You couldn't have been thinking when you said that. Seriously. Most of these kids are from Baltimore.
2. Let's say there's a black person who moves to Dover from Baltimore. His culture is different than yours. He likes rap music and walks around with his pants at his ankles and plays basketball and talks like someone from a music video. Is this culture different? Yes, somewhat. Are you going to willingly expose yourself to it? Are you going to go up in the hall and say "hey, new guy, can you show me what your culture is all about?" Are you going to invite him to your lunch table? Are you going to ask him to hang out after school? Probably not, because you're not comfortable with doing that with certain types of people. Because of the different culture.
So how can you say that new minorities bring culture if you don't expose yourself to it? It's ridiculous how people contradict their words with their actions, and even their words.
Drew Holtzapple, Period 4
ReplyDelete1. I do not believe we live in a post-racial society. Just because Obama won in highly-improbable states doesn't mean that they don't see him for the color of his skin. When society sees a person for a person and not what they look like/what color they are, then we are in a post-racial society. And explanation of how Obama won could be: they despised John McCain (not uncommon), or maybe they liked Obama's views but they still don't like HIM because he's black. Also when there is zero discriminating anymore that may indicate that we are heading toward a post-racial society, but we definitely aren't now.
2. I believe it affected both extremes. It made people more tolerant of diversity and it made people hate diversity even more. It made those already tolerant of different people more tolerant, and it made those against certain races and customs even more discriminative.
4. I do believe that English should be required in the U.S. Not because I hate the fact that they're taking our jobs and saying stuff about us that we can't understand, but because a significantly larger number of people know English as opposed to other languages such as Spanish, French, etc. It makes everything much simpler if you learn the most spoken language of the area rather than forcing the people (who were originally here) to learn to understand the foreign language.
@Jamie--- I agree, we've been speaking this language since this country's been founded, no real reason to learn another language.
@Nicole Lucas--- Yeah, diversity brings both positive and negative side effects, unfortunately at Dover it's mostly negative...
Casie Strausbaugh pd. 4
ReplyDelete2. Diversity definitly has had its positives and negatives at DHS. For a positive, the new flow of diverse students has given many of us an opportunity to learn how to open our minds to knew people, seeing as we didn't get that much of an opportunity to during elementary school because most of the students were of one race. However, a lot of conflict has come out of being a more diverse school because some of the students not only at Dover but within all of York County have a tendency to be racist. This has affected our school by causing numerous racial fights between students.
3. I think that gay students are becoming much more accepted in schools not only at Dover but throughout all of America. Because it is becoming more accepted, more and more people feel comfortable coming out about it. It has become pretty normal to many of us students to hear about, so i think gay rights have made a huge stide over the last few years.
4. English has been this country's language since it was first created, so yes i see no reason to change it. If your going to move here, atleast make an effort to learn our language and cultures. So no, i don't think we need to offer voting information in other languages. I think things are fine the way they are.
Caitlyn Yetter pd. 4
ReplyDelete1. I don’t think we’re quite yet at a post-racial society. There is still a lot of division between races. We only think we live in a post-racial society, because we sweep the issues under the rug.
2. There is a lot more diversity coming into our school district, as more families are moving into cookie-cutter developments springing up all over the place. With the influx, there has been an issue with race popping up in the school. The people that have lived here all their lives are adverse, putting it lightly, to the idea of all the new people flowing in mostly from Baltimore. And it’s going to get worse before it gets any better.
3. I think being gay is more accepted now. The GSA proves this. There’s still not complete acceptance of it, but there hasn’t been any major issues over it. Before, you would have been shunned, and now it just doesn’t really matter. The limits on a greater acceptance all depends on the people. There will always be people who will absolutely, under no circumstances, accept gays but there are a lot more people who will. Over time, it will be accepted. But that’s a lot of time.
4. I don’t think English should be the required language. Isn’t ethnic diversity been the pride and joy of this country? Making everyone speak English would take that away. Yes, it would make things a whole lot easier having everything in one single language, but, let’s face it; our country is made up of foreigners. There is no such thing as an American descent. We’re all something else. For example, my family is Germanic and Scottish. My family came over from Europe, ages ago, as did practically every other family.
5. Affirmative action is the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. I believe they should be kept, but not strengthened, as we need to learn acceptance on our own, but with the help of affirmative action. In a way, Americans have a contradictory view on the issue: most agree to programs helping minorities, but most oppose taking every possible effort to help every minority’s position. I believe that rights of minorities should be protected but not directly the reason for decisions, and schools shouldn't have to know your race.
Casie Strausbaugh pd. 4
ReplyDelete@ Tahi
I think you are totally right about the gay rights situation. I don't think anyone has the right to judge other people based on who they like, its doesn't really affect them anyway.
@ St. Clair
I like how you described how Dover has handled the diversity we are facing. Yes, there is stereotyping and some discrimination, but it has given us an opportunity to be around people of different races which is a good thing.
St. Clair
ReplyDelete@ Lamar
I think your comment @ abby might have been the most narrow-minded thing I've seen in a long time. That's an example of people not thinking. These people have been brought up a certain way for sixteen years, and you just want them to change right away? And who said anything about drive-bys? No one. Do they do drive-bys? No. I think that was a very racist statement. As for the second thing you said about acting like they're in the ghetto? That's just stupid. It doesn't matter where you come from, you act like you're brought up. It's all they know. For you to say that they should stop is just an example of a majority wanting the minority to be like the majority.
@Kyle--- I can't believe how ignorant and immature you're post was... That's just embarrassing.
ReplyDelete@ drew
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about Kyle's post.
Zachary Hivner Period 1
ReplyDelete1. Even with the election of Barak Obama we do not live in a post racism society. One person becoming president does not fix all of the intolerance in America. There are many areas where people are still intolerant in the United States. We as a country will always feel some sort of bigotry towards someone different then us. Today its people of Hispanic descent tomorrow it could be Australian, who knows. Look how bad we have treated the Hispanics in our country. I mean there are talks about building a giant wall just to keep them out. What does that say I’m sorry your Mexican stay out. So no I don't believe we are over racism and I don't think we will ever be over it.
2. Yes Dover is becoming more diverse. Yes this is a good thing it opens people up to a whole new world of culture. It allows beliefs and traditions to be shared. I do believe conflict will grow but eventually it will dissipate in Dover, but not before some kind of violence happens. Many kids in our school will fight diversity just because they are different.
4.Yes I think English should be required as a language more or less so that it eases the paperwork of having multiple forms between French, English, Spanish, and whatever other languages that are out there. English is already the language that our government uses why don't we just make it official. How many Spanish signs have you seen around here? Yes eventually Spanish could become more spoken than English, but if that time ever comes then we could change it but right now this is the language we speak most frequently.
@Corey
Yes I agree that we should have English as our official language. We should make it more readily available so that anybody can learn our language.
@Lamar
Problems will arise with Dover becoming more diverse but eventually a majority of the fighting will stop. It will just take time for each of the two groups to become acclimated with each other’s culture. And yes we all have slightly different cultures. Do you have the exact same values as your friends, how about traditions?
Posting from the kitchen table, again
ReplyDeleteNow I feel like I oughta address the gay thing (Tom, my "Huh" was a response to the, ah, interesting stuff in that article).
I'm totally with Chester (Kenny for those who don't know) on this one. If it doesn't physically hurt you or deprive you of money, BACK THE FUNK OFF. I fracking HATE people like you who think that YOUR set of morals is EVERYONE'S FRIGGING set.
Sorry bout that. It's cathartic for me. I'm done now.
And I guess a 13 year old got on here and used Authority Ranger's name, from the looks of it.
~Heather "I got a pretzel in my head" Williams
Grant Brown, Period 1 (Uno, One, Un, Eins, Etc.)
ReplyDelete1.) As much as I’d like to say yes to this question, the sad reality is that we really don’t live in a post-racial society, both globally and locally. Discrimination and hatred for different ethnic groups is nothing new, and although it’s been going down over the years, it will never fully go away for the simple fact that there will always be people who are racist and refuse to change, for whatever reason.
2.) York and Dover in the past few years have gotten drastically more diverse, in my opinion. Now I may feel strongly about this because I live literally 500ft from the new neighborhood where a lot of the Baltimore people have moved into, but nevertheless, York County and Dover are getting more diverse. I think that it hasn’t really affected DHS extremely drastically (is that proper grammar?), because the way I see it the people who discriminate and hate people who are different are still doing it, just to different people. If anything, I think it may have helped our school at slowly being able to accept more people, just because we really don’t have a choice. I think that some racial tensions can and have run high, however like I said before, there isn’t a whole lot you can do to change it, you either have to accept it and more forward, or fight a battle you’re bound to lose. Either way, there’s the potential to promote tolerance which I believe will ultimately be instilled.
4.) “What do you call a person who speaks three languages? Tri-lingual. What do you call someone who speaks two languages? Bi-lingual. What do you call someone who speaks one language? American” (just thought I’d share that.)
If English was the required language in the United Sates, would a whole lot change? I speak English. You do. I think that if we declared English the language of the United Sates, people would just turn around and say “Duh”. I think that the increase in Hispanic citizens’ power won’t change the demographic very much; this country runs on English, as do the people in it.
@ St. Clair - I agree with pretty much everything you've said, and think you said it well. (very specific, aren't I?)
@ Robert - I agree with what you said about changing the language to English, and the problems it might cause. I didn't even think about it like that.
1. A post racial society? Absurd. There is so much racial tension in the world today. Conflict and discrimination is something that will never go away. There are just that select few that won't change for the better for their own reasons.
ReplyDelete2. York County, specifically Dover, has gone through a lot of change racially and with diversity. I think that this change is for the better in helping more people in the school become adapted to racial diversity and coping with those from Baltimore and what-not.
4. Language in the US should be based on what you want. America is all about individuality and diversity. If your family speaks all Spanish or Swahili, then you may speak it in my opinion. Personally, it is really not a bad thing to learn English as a second language just because 58.5 percent of the English-speaking world lives in the United States.
@ Authority Ranger--you are being closed minded, but i can see where you are coming from where the conflict rate in the school has really had a boost
@ Sav--i completely agree with you when you say that English should be the assumed language of America.
Josh Firestone pd. 1
ReplyDelete1) I believe that we do not live in a post-racism society, even though the amount of racism has decreased tenfold over the years there are still many racists. I also believe people didn’t vote for Obama in the elections strictly based on the fact that he is a black man.
2) The increase of diversity in Dover has caused one main problem; a few years ago there were many fights that were centered on racism. Now that the tension has pretty much dissolved I do not see any problems or benefits of diversity in the future of Dover/York area.
3) I believe that now days there are more people who accept gays, although there are still more who don’t. I don’t think that the ways/ideals of gays and gays should be more accepted by society/schools.
4) I believe that English should be the required national language for the United States because it would make many things easier by eliminating the language barrier. As Hispanic power in politics increases I still think they should learn English and follow/believe in the laws that our founding fathers created. I do not believe that voting ballots should be printed in Spanish for two reasons, if they want to vote learn the language of the majority ENGLISH, and secondly it would give more power to Hispanics whose ideals are most likely not in our countries and my best interests!
5. Affirmative action is the set of public policies and initiatives designed to help eliminate past and present discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. I believe they should not be kept because just because someone is a different race, color religion or sex should not be the reason they are selected for a position. It should purely be based on who would fulfill the position best. The only way I see this to be correct is in the case of college if someone is economically hurting then maybe to help them out only if they are qualified for the spot.
Josh Firestone pd. 4
ReplyDelete@ Almost everyone
I also agree that English should be our national language 100%!
@ Jenny
It would be so much easier to have a single national language, there would be no language barriers then! Plus why make the majority learn a new language when the minority of people who don't speak english could just learn english.
Nathan Flory pd. 1
ReplyDelete1. I’d love to think that we live in a post racial but there is always a group of people that will completely ruin it. The fact that the United States elected Barak Obama means that more people have seen that race doesn’t truly matter. That’s great but soon they will also realize that no matter what race they are politicians and in the end disappoint many people. America has a long way to go to be color blind. If any nation to can be post racial it will be the United States. No other nation is as open to the world’s different peoples and cultures. Eventually, the U.S. will become post racial as the different cultures begin to blend together. Considering that the Civil Rights Act wasn’t passed until the 1960’s and it has taken forty years to become slightly more tolerant of other people I don’t think that we will see a generation of color blindness in our lifetime. The only reason being that the more extreme groups continue to spread biased messages of hatred and refused toleration. Toleration is a bad thing because it means that you dislike it in some way. To me perfect means that a person simply doesn’t care what race or creed another is.
2. DHS has gotten more diverse and it’s good for everyone to learn of another’s culture. We know that we’ve had some problems with the growing diversity and I don’t think that it will truly improve until a generation or two after we have graduated.
4. The United States should NEVER have an official language. It’s a horrible idea. It will scare many people who seek America as a land of opportunity. America is what it is today because of it being known as a land for all people. I believe that it will prosper by continuing to be a land willing to accept any lawful citizen of another nation. When our ancestors came to America I’m sure that many of them did not know English. I know that in our nation English is needed to get by. Offering voter information in other language is not going to hurt a thing. No one should care that this might happen because there is more than one language that they would have to program into the voting software. This will mean a lot of government time and money so seeing this in the near future I see as hilarious. Not to mention the government would have to choose what languages to offer.
Shawn Vincent Period 1
ReplyDelete1. We are not living in a post-racism country, simply becuase there is still racism. i would say, however, that we are living in a post-radical racism country. You just don't see it as often as before. And with the election of a black president, it sure seems that we're heading in the right direction
2.It has become increasingly obvious that Dover has become increasingly more diverse. This fact has negative and positive reprocussions. the outburst of racism is a negative. However, as students grow more accustomed to being in an environment with people of different color or race for a long period of time, they'll gradually become more understanding and accepting.
3. It seems that homosexuality is just something high schoolers will never be able to fully grasp or empathize with. it's a concept they cannot wrap their head around, therefore they think it's strange and they want no part of it or anybody that is homosexual. this is not everyone of course, but i find that the majority of students feel this way. They will not go out of their way to bully the homosexual unless the homosexual does anything "gay" towards them. Which almost never happens. despite this, the heterosexual student will likely talk about homosexuality like it's an infectious disease and should be rid of dover high. this is just the way it is.
@ most people
ReplyDeleteYes, I see why you think english should be made the official language and if any language would be made the official language it should be english.
@ Kyle
The lesbian thing was just perverse and unethical. Diversity is better for the people of Dover and the United States. Will there be problems, yes but that's just life.
Even if we lived in a nation of just one ethnicity we would still have many problems.
Shawn Vincent Period 1
ReplyDelete@ jeff
Ok, i get what your saying about the language, hell, i took french and i just can't use that in every day dialect. But i do think it would be nice if everyone was multi-lingual. that way there would be absolutely no conflict concering languages or understanding someone. But of course this is entirely fictional and probably will never happen.
@ nathan flory
I agree with you that the positive efffects of diversity will take a while to fully set in.
P:s the only way you'd choose to be gay is if indeed you are gay. therefore it is not just a choice you make, like choosing to be a steelers fan as opposed to a ravens fan.
ReplyDeleteMy, my, my....I first want to congratulate myself for constructing such excellent questions. Well done....me!
ReplyDeleteSecondly, I'd also like to thank the students for courageous answers. Some of you decided to give non-safe answers and I appreciate your candor. Frankly, Kyle's response, which I personally totally disagree with, was a honest reflection of an opinion that has been often associated with DHS. I also think that its a bit jarring to see in print for some students.
Thirdly, I do think these questions are geared to create...on the other hand responses that can contradict. Therefore, people can unintentionally seem like hypocrites.
As far as English & voting, I'm afraid you've been tricked. This is an actual PA case decided in Berks county (the Reading Area). Sorry English only folks--the courts have ruled that voting materials must be provided in a dominant language of a particular area. If that language is Chinese or Spanish, then voting materials are made in those language in addition to English.
ReplyDeleteI would like to point out-In addition to English! The idea that English will be replaced is at least 400 years away. Remember, the Spanish developed the 1st 2 settlements in North America. Jamestown was afterwards. French was the language of diplomacy until just recently when--English became the big winner.
In the end, I think that as long as America is an economic power-then English wins..Otherwise, learn the language of the worlds economic powers.
Stefon, Period 4
ReplyDelete3. I personally don't experience a probvlem. It really is only people who act like contentious ninnies who receive abuse for being gay in my view. -Yes, you may quote me on this.- I mean for God's sake [not to drag him into this since Leviticus clearly states homo is a nono] I wore GLITTER on my face all day on Friday and didn't rouse so much as a sideways glance other than from Hoover who wasn't at all abusive! Perfect example: [for purposes unnecessary I will censor the name of this individual] T*l*r N*n*r is the type of gay who violates important social codes related to being homosexual in a heterosexually dominated society. He forces himself on heterosexual men, attempts to generate probvlems by writing trashy articles and melodramatic poetry in the school paper, and has a general air of “disrespect me because I am emotionally weak” about him. The child threatened my life repeatedly and then proceeded to attempt suicide last year. He is desperately and maliciously grasping at every opportunity to receive attention, mostly negative. Maybe I, and many others, don’t get negative attention because we are respectable people and respectful of social boundaries. I think it is perfectly comfortable at this moment to be homosexual in Dover or most other American schools. So this is my view on the “issue” of being gay in modern DHS.
4. I think Latin should be the official language of the US. Honestly. It would even out the playing field for all foreigners or natives in America. Also it sounds so BA. «Bonus dies! Ego sum unas civis Americae, vescere bracis meis et ascendo tuum.» Awesome, right? If we are going to strip someone of their freedom to speak solely any language we might as well just strip everyone of this freedom. Equality for all! I mean, where does it address this at all in the constitution? Is this covered under a right to freedom of speech? Sure, the majority speaks English in America. I think that the system of not bothering it is working just fine now. When it becomes learn English [or Latin] or die alone on the streets with no money or a vote maybe then we should worry. But nearly everyone who emigrates to the US learns enough English to survive. Agreed? Aio, quantitas magna frumentorum est!
5. Ad captandum vulgus, admittedly, I am going to say nothing about affirmative action. I have not yet experienced it therefore I shouldn’t have an opinion on it… Sorry if I disappointed.
@Kyle
ReplyDeleteI don't think I need to say this, but you are an incredibly offensive, narrow-minded, anti-modernist oaf.
Absit invidia.
However I respect your freedom to be this way.
@Heather
Your opinions never cease to amuse me :] also, I thoroughly enjoyed your use of the word cathartic.
One day we will all speak Latin.
UNAS DIES!
:P
I would love to hear a reason Dover doesn't get out for the most important Jewish holiday of the year... This means I have to go out of my way to get to temple before guard practice.
ReplyDeleteEQUALITY FAIL
Stewart pd 1
ReplyDelete1. i dont think we live in a post-racial society yet, but it could develop into one in years to come.
2. Dover is becoming more diverse, but i dont see any levels of anger rising or any more fights than usual, so apparently it's not that big of a deal if we are becoming more diverse. Dovers rep could become less hicktown is possibly a plus. haha doubt it.
3. yes, gays are being more accepted in schools i think. of course i doubt they'll ever be fully accepted, the more people coming out the less it will seem weird? i dont know. always weird to me, but hey its their choice and it doesnt involve me or give anyone a reason to be rude. (keep that in mind haters)
4. If you come to america, you should be able to at least speak a little bit of english. if i wanted to live in another country id learn to speak their language.. so if they want to live here they gotta learn to speak it. touring is different.
Kyle: uhm. can you cuss on this blog? and second. ew to the gay women. perv!
taylor: haha farming hicks. LOL
Danni Barlow
ReplyDeletePeriod 1
2. Well i think dover has really become diverse over the years. In all the ways it has affected dover i dont really believe any of them are good. With the increasing diversity we have an increase in violence and an increase in racism. This issue is only going to escalate over a period of time and become worse. People say things have to become bad to get better but i believe this is just not one of those things.
3. I honestly dont believe that gay students have become remotely accepted in our school. It seems like more and more each day i hear someone making a remark against someone gay. Personally i believe that gay people should be accepted the only thing that seperates them from us is that the like the same sex and not the opposite.
4. Well i believe if you live in america you should speak english. I fell like if we change our ways around to accomidate the Hispanics then we are ust giving them more of a reason to be here. An absolute NO to putting voting information in Spanish. For gods sake you live in america learn how to speak the language and comprehend it!
@ Jamie
I absolutely 100% agree with you on English being the language. I feel the same about not being against other languages but yo have to draw a line somewhere.
@ Nicole
Ok i guess you can learn from the different diversities but in reality how many people are going to change their state of mind to do that? A lot of the people were raised a certain way and i highly doubt that they will break that mold that they are set into!
Alex Hamm Period 1
ReplyDelete2. In regards to Dover's diversity, our small town has undoubtedly become more diverse over the last 10 years. This diversity has had good and bad points. Bad points include people unwilling to accept change and therefore taking it upon themselves to let the new minorities know that they do not approve of new people invading their "territory". Good points include a revitalization of the community. Dover has a reputation as being a fairly narrow-minded group of conservatives and I hope that a little bit of diversity will help to change this perception.
3. I agree with the fact that gays are vastly discriminated against in our public schools. However, there are very little means by which to prevent this discrimination. With this in mind, I believe that as society becomes more and more acceptable of homosexuals, so will the public school system.
4. I do believe that English should be a required language in the US. However, I do believe that voting should be available in other languages. This is because if Americans truly wish to spread democracy outside of the US, then we should also recognize the fact that many foreign democracies do not speak English.
@ Stewart
Agreed with the English issue.
@ Nathan Flory
Agreed with the time factor for the positive effects of diversity to set in.
Nikki Elicker
ReplyDeletePeriod One
1. When you’re asked this question, you must answer another question first; Do you want the honest answer, or the nice answer? Well first off what is the nice answer? The nice answer consists of: "Of course we live in a post-racial society. We have a black president, and people of other cultures are equal to the whites. Everything is just ducky bunny." Well if that's the nice answer than what's the honest answer? Well open your eyes and look at Dover. Look at DHS cafeteria; you have the Hispanic table, the black table, the redneck table, and the many different white kid tables. Although we want to believe and say we're living in a post-racial society, we're not. Although race isn't as big of a problem, it still is an issue facing our society today.
3. I try to avoid this topic; it always seems to stir up problems. Has homosexuality become more accepted within schools? Well the clear answer is yes. Just look at all the homosexuals in Dover. I would consider myself a strong Christian, and my opinions on homosexuality always seem to stir up controversy. As stated in Leviticus 18:22, “You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female; it is an abomination." and as stated in Leviticus 20:13, "If there is a man who lies with a male as those who lie with a woman, both of them have committed a detestable act; they shall surely be put to death. Their bloodguiltness is upon them". Clearly, as stated in the bible, homosexuality is wrong. I don’t believe that we should become more accepting to it; although I myself have many homosexual friends, and I have found myself to accept their lifestyle. It also states in the bible, Matthew 7:5, You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. I have no room to judge anyone’s lifestyle, when mine also has faults. So although I don’t agree with the lifestyle, it’s not my place to judge.
4. So what happens if we require English as the language for the United States? Do you really think that’ll stop people from speaking Spanish? No, it’ll just deter them away from things like voting, but it wont stop them. I think if the U.S. wants to focus on one problem, it should be the illegal aliens themselves, not the language they speak.
2. With diversity comes change. We've had good and bad. People have becoming somewhat more accepting of others and have learned to coexist and Becker would like to say! But others are too ignorant to even try. They just instantly assume that they hate a person just because of where they are from or what they look like. So in all we have the good and the bad.
ReplyDelete3. In the article it seems as though it is becoming much easier for gay students to be open. In Dover in general I don't really many gay students so for the ones I do know, it appears as though they aren't really harassed or bullied because of it. Where will always be people against it, but as time goes on I think it will become more accepted. I honestly don't agree with it because it goes against what I believe, but it's up to those people to decide what they want and if they choose to be gay then we should at least be understanding.
4. In my opinion, English should become the required language in America. If someone wants to come to live in America so badly, then they should be willing to learn our language. It always frustrates me seeing every little slogan or sign written in Spanish below it. I don understand that there will be some foreigners and we should be tolerant of that but they should be willing to learn the language of America.
@ Alex Hamm I pretty much agree on the English issue.
@ Danni, I disagree, I do think some of the diversity has caused some good.