17. April 2009 by student.

I just want to start off saying that I fear the direction that this country is heading in. I woke up this morning listening to the news and the first thing that I hear is that Albany_Gov.David A. Paterson wants a public debate on Gay marriage.  In my view,there shouldn’t really be a debate. If America claims to be a christian nation then its judgments should accordingly line up with its beliefs/claims. Even  debates of ordaining homosexual minister’s is now becoming an issue.  Many churches here in America say that they believe the Bible in its entirety. Then if you then believe that the Bible was inspired by God, then what right do we have as man to question or to twist its teachings to justify are actions? If America don’t have a foundation, how can it stand?This is just foolishness!!! How can a homosexuals be ordained as ministers?  It like saying you have a group of African Americans who want to join the KKK.  There are some things that shouldn’t even be up for debate. If America continues like this, how can it not fall?

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17. April 2009 by student.

Although there are no really comprehensive studies on this issue, it is estimated that over three-fourths of all newlyweds are not virgins at the time of their wedding.   Shocking?  Not really, when it is so rampantly displayed in the media.  It is common behavior in movies, television, magazines, and music.  We have become conditioned against morality and toward immorality.  The propaganda seems to center on the fact that if one is in love or engaged, having sex is all right.  Of course, most of my high school friends were in love when they had sex with each of their boyfriends.  I am trying to remember just how many times I was in love during my four years of high school—and I didn’t have sex with each of those guys!!   Now, I am not saying that I was a perfect goody two shoes, but my point is that young people just should not use that excuse for behavior that they know is wrong.

There are many reasons that premarital sex is wrong.   First, it is a sin against God and one’s own body.  It will cause guilt feelings and a fear of judgment and separation from God on a spiritual level.  Of course, there are also  physical consequences.  The possibility of pregnancy is apparent, since there is no 100 percent effective birth control.  I have learned this the hard way!  Even if a person doesn’t get pregnant, there are approximately fifteen different sexually transmitted diseases that can be contracted.  When a person has sex , they are basically having sex with every person that their sexual partner has ever had sex with and every person that those people have ever had sex with.  That number could be astounding—into the hundreds.  Of course, there is no cure for Herpes II, AIDS, and several other diseases that can be contracted.  Even if you happen to get lucky, and let’s say, only come down with a mild case of the “clap”, that would just be so embarassing.  Of course, premarital sex can definitely wreck a potentially good relationship and keep a person trapped in a bad one.  If the relationship before marriage is primarily physical, it produces a shallow relationship, and there is no communication that builds a real friendship that can develop into “the real thing”, which is what most people are truly looking for in a marriage partner.  Premarital sex can seduce many into glamourizing a dysfunctional relationship that is doomed for failure.  Another reason that premarital sex is a bad idea is that if immorality occurs now, there is no guarantee that there will not be infidelity after marriage since premarital sex is a good indicator of a lack of moral standards and emotional control.  How can you be sure that this is the one for all time, for living happily ever after?  Lastly, these premarital sexual memories can destroy future romance and can result in frigidity.  Then, again, it is much harder for parents to teach morality to their children when they themselves did not follow moral standards.  It is better to break off a premarital relationship to see whether it was just a physical relationship or if there is genuine love, compatibility, and responsibility enough for a good marriage.  If not, the break should be complete and final.  It is far better to avoid premarital sex and wait for the person you will actually commit to spending the rest of your life with, than to live a life of regrets, serial sex partners, and possible disease and death.  These are very good reasons to —just say no!

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17. April 2009 by student.

          In the United States the use of corporal punishment is legal in every state. Personally I believe that the physical punishment of children should be outlawed.            

          As a child I was never spanked. Since my parents do not believe in corporal punishment I have been influenced to feel the same as they do on the topic. Instead of physical punishment my parents used more mental punishment. This included groundings where I would have to sit in my room or not be allowed to play outside with my friends on days I got in trouble. They would also use punishments where I would have to recite or write down what I did wrong until I was told to stop. In my own opinion I believe alternative punishments like time-outs or groundings are more effective than spanking or physical punishments.            

        I think spanking is a pointless way of punishment because if a child does something wrong and gets a spanking in return, although it hurts, the pain only lasts for a couple minutes therefore leaving a short impact on a child’s bad behavior. Time-outs seem to have more of an effect on children because while sitting there they have time to think about what they have done and why they are in trouble. According to a recent study on Parenting and Preschool Child Development, “corporal punishment has a negative effect on children’s social development“. I have friends that grew up getting spanked or hit when being punished and I personally tend to see aggressive behavior from them in certain situations where I find myself being calm. Some studies have shown that mothers who have reported spanking their children are up to three times more likely to using other forms of physical punishment like hitting, shaking, and beating than mothers who reported to not use spanking as punishment.            

       For example, I remember growing up in my neighborhood back home where I had two best friends that lived down the street. I was at their house almost every day and there were numerous accounts when they would get in trouble. Sometimes they would get yelled at but most of the time they would get spanked right there in front of me. I can remember sitting on their couch one evening when their step-dad got home from work and realized my friend left his bike out in the yard. His step dad was not happy with him so he yelled at him and hit him on the butt with a spoon repetitively which in turn made my friend cry and yell. I then remember my friend being dragged by the arm into the other room where I continued to hear cries for him to stop and banging up against the wall. I rushed home and told my parents and I was not allowed to go down to their house for a good while after that. The point of this example is to show that sometimes a simple spanking can escalate to more intense beatings on children because of our human inability to calm down in moments of anger sometimes.            

       In high school I worked at a daycare for about six months so I learned a lot about the “friendly” ways to handle children’s bad behavior and took many workshops on how to approach children positively in a negative situation. For example, instead of saying “No, don’t hit your friend” we were required to say something along the lines of “Why did you hit your friend? Hands are for hugging not hitting, now go hug your friend and tell them you’re sorry”. This technique seemed to work amazingly and the children seemed to really learn from it.

            Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and parents have their rights to how they raise their children but I think there should be a limit to how far parent’s take punishing their children and the way they go about it.

So, how will you go about it?

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

17. April 2009 by Mr. Andoscia.

I’ve graded the blogs from here down.  There’s some really great stuff out there.

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17. April 2009 by student.

The educational system in the United States seems pretty strange to me. It is unbelieveable how students practically do whatever they want now a day. While most students between the ages of 17 and 18 graduate each year, many states allow for the student to voluntary remove themselves from enrollment, or “drop out” without earning a diploma. I understand that when you are 18 and have enough maturity to make decisions you can do whatever you want, but if you are a mature person why take this path? Dropping out of high school is a choice that can cost many suffrages to not only one self, but it can damage a person’s future in many ways! Think about it.. when you don’t have a full education you are not only missing out on the great information they give you at school that is implied in the real world, but you will never be able to have a really good job where you can get a decent salary to support youself. I know from experience that school is the most stressing thing in the world apart from bills, but whether we like it or not, we need an education. And having problems or going through really tough stuff is no excuse to drop out. There are many options where you can find help, like counseling at school or counseling outside school. If you think school is too hard and you just can’t deal with it anymore… try to get tutoring or something, but believe me, you NEED an education. I’m not saying be a straight A student, but at least try getting a B or C average where you can graduate from high school and at least enter a technical school… There’s no need to get a job at McDonalds (no offense to those who work at McDonaldfs, I’ve had a part time there) but why do it when you can become a lawyer, a doctor or be someone big. Isn’t it better to wake up in the morning and say “oh yes i’m going to do something I like” instead of the usual “ugh, work again” so think on it and help those kids who take the wrong decisions.. especially parents, if you feel like you have no control over your children when they turn 18, try at least talking to them.. and if you can’t get anywhere by talking, make sure you do anything and everything to show them how good it is to be an intellectual person who has an amazing future and not just random person in the street with a really low paying job when you could’ve had a better life! Oh and by the way if anybody doubts this is a social problem, google it or read books and you will see that the educational system is very wrong on allowing this kids to drop out with no punishment..!

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17. April 2009 by student.

Stem cell research has been existent for several years now, but recently we have changed our tactics.  In the beginning of stem cell research we were using embryonic cells, which were derived from eggs that women donated. These eggs were donated to a stem cell lab and were available, for research by the consent of the donors. The embryonic cells are obtained from embryos that develop from the eggs that have been fertilized in a stem cell lab.  These cells are never fertilized in the women’s body. The embryos are usually four or five days old, were they now have developed into embryonic stem cells in the form of a hollow microscopic bundle of cells. These stem cells are then extracted from the embryos and killed for testing. This strategy of deriving stem cells was funded by the government for some time, until people realized and proclaimed that it was immoral. Because the embryo was a form of human life, and in order to use it for scientific research it had to be killed first, people thought it was unacceptable. After that the government funding had been put to a halt for stem cell research; although, there are now alternatives to acquire these cells.  The alternatives are humane and do not include killing an embryo. Since there are humane ways to research these stem cells to improve, or cure some diseases we should put it into service. Some examples of the diseases that could be improved in their treatment by stem cells are Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and even some types of cancer. However scientists need money in order to continue with their work, which is why one should think of funding, for stem cell research.

            One of the new alternatives for acquiring stem cells is by cord blood. Cord blood is located in umbilical cord; this cord is what binds the mother with her new born baby at birth. The cord blood that is in the umbilical cord is usually thrown away along with the placenta in the emergency room as medical waste.  As stated in the article “PerkinElmer Establishes Viacord Research Institute ™ to Further Cord Blood Stem Cell Advancements” these cords should not be put to waste because,Cord Blood is a valuable, non-controversial source of stem cells with proven effect in treating more than 70 serious diseases, including many cancers and immunodeficiencies. To date, more than 10,000 cord blood transplants have been performed worldwide. In the future medical use of cord blood stem cells may be expanded to include treatment of cardiac disease, autoimmune diseases or neurological disorders (par.2).  This is why if one is to give birth soon, they should store their babies cord blood in a cord blood bank, so it may be used in case of an unexpected health condition.            Another way of getting stem cells is by human “parthenogenetic” stem cells (“International”, par.3). These stem cells are made from unfertilized human eggs, and do not engage in the slaying of fertilized embryos, yet still share the same qualities as conventional human embryonic stem cells and their ability to change into all tissue types. International Stem Cell Corporation scientists have created the first Parthenogenetic homozygous stem cell line (phSC-Hhom-4) that can be a source of therapeutic cells that will not be immune rejected after transplantation into millions of individuals of different sexes, ages and racial groups (“international”, par.7). These types of stem cells are said to treat immune deficiency disorders and other related diseases that could not have been treated before.            Just last year a brand new method of getting stem cells was introduced by James Thomson “… that human adult skin cells can be reprogrammed into cells just as potent as embryonic stem cells, with no embryos harmed”(Langreth, par.3). With this new method we can eliminate all unethical proposes people have made in the past and continue with research. We should study these skin cells; moreover, because we have the technology and we know that these cells might have the solution to a brighter future of health. As Thomson says “It may be decades before an injection of neurons grown from embryonic stem cells will be able to repair a damaged spine” (Langreth, par.4). “But … ‘These cells suddenly give us access to all the bits of the human body we’ve never had access to,’” which will give us the chance to explore these cells more thoroughly, so we can modify them to cure diseases (Langreth, par.4).            Through stem cell research and analysis, there can be a tremendous improvement in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, some types of cancer, and many other diseases. In addition to treating diseases there also might be a capability in the future of repairing damages cells. These damaged cells might have been cause by, for example; a heart attack. As summarized in the article “New source of heart stem cells found: study.” they say that we are able to use the cells that are located on the outside of our heart and use them to repair the damaged cells (par.2). “Pu and colleagues showed that the cells from the heart’s outer lining, called the epicardium, can not only metamorphose into cardiomyocytes but also into smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, which line the interior of blood vessels, and fibroblasts, found in connective tissue”(“New”, par.10).  “‘If you are going to regenerate tissue, you need to regenerate the whole tissue, not just the cardiomyocytes,’ Pu said in a statement (“New”, par.11).The funny thing about this discovery is that it was discovered by a accidental observation.            To be able to research stem cells scientists need funds from the government to support them; however, their funds got cut off couple of years ago because the cells that they were using were found in aborted fetal tissue. But now there are new places where stem cells can be found, or even created. These new stem cells that have been discovered can be used in the same research centers, and they have the same benefits as embryonic cells had. The benefit of these discoveries is that there can no longer be an excuse for not using these cells for improving health conditions. If we support these researchers, and help them get funds from the government these projects, one day might save our lives. This is why our future health depends on stem cell research.

Works Cited“International Stem Cell Corporation Announces Collaboration with Michigan State University to Study Parthenogenetic Stem Cells.”Business Wire (08 July 2008). Health & Wellness Resource Center. LINCC. Rush Library, Fort Myers, FL. 10 July 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>.Langreth, Robert and Matthew Herper “Stem Cells Get Real.” Forbes Global. (June 16, 2008) Vol.4. i11.62. Health & Wellness Resource Center. LINCC. Rush Library, Fort Myers, FL. 11 July 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>.“New source of heart stem cells found: study.”Africa Wire- Sudan (22 June 2008). Health & Wellness Resource Center. LINCC. Rush Library, Fort Myers, FL. 10 July 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>. “PerkinElmer Establishes Viacord Research Institute™ to Further Cord Blood Stem Cell Advancements.”Business Wire (03 July 2008). Health & Wellness Resource Center. LINCC. Rush Library, Fort Myers, FL. 10 July 2008 <http://galenet.galegroup.com/>.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 2 Comments »

17. April 2009 by student.

The media on global warming in the 21^st century has caused people to believe that the world’s climate is changing because of our inefficient lifestyles.  By linking climate disasters to global warming and by showing us drastic clips of the glaciers melting, they try to make people believe that if we do not change our lives now we will soon be cut off short.  So we as people need to decide whether we should take the side of the media or should we just reflect on how we handled the past situations.  Situations that were really serious and we just didn’t do anything about them except for lived with them unprepared.

There is a great history of media that have warned us for years about global warming but the people decided to do nothing.  As summarized in the article “Natural Factors Cause Global Warming” in the years 900a.d through 1100a.d. was a time known as the Medieval Warm Period where the weather in that period was as hot as they predict it to be in the year 2100.  In this time the Medieval Warm Period mostly affected the Europeans where they had a warmer climate which helped their crops by giving them longer growing seasons and a better economic standing.  Although there might have been some good profits with the Medieval Warm Period, soon after this came the Little Ice Age in 1650a.d.  The Little Ice Age brought with it freezing temperatures that caused a serious decline in crop growth that eventually caused huge food shortages, diseases and poor economy.  It wasn’t until 1860 that the temperatures started to warm up again (Carlisle, par.9-14).

From that time on we have lived our lives you can say about normally with a few severe disasters and storms until 1998.  Where scientists couldn’t believe how a storm that would happen every one hundred years would now happen every year.  These weather changes have not only affected us but they are also affecting the world’s animals.  One example of how this affected the migration of storks in 1998 was when “Northern Germany and Poland were caught in the grip of an extended drought and frost.  Their migratory instincts confounded, the storks turned back and began flying in wide circles over Turkey and the Balkans—until hundreds dropped out of the sky, dead from exhaustion”(Gelbspan, par.4) .  Global warming has been going on for years now and we don’t know when it will turn into a great disaster.

Like in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” we have all seen that climate doesn’t always change after a long period of time it might just change almost overnight.  In the movie “The Day After Tomorrow” they showed us how people were walking calmly on the streets going to work, home and etc. on a warm sunny day.  It was a beautiful day until suddenly a huge tidal wave came into the city and flooded it.  After it flooded a sudden drop in temperature came to freezing weather causing the city to have limited food supply and cause many deaths.  This is why we cannot just wait around for change to happen we need to grab hold of ourselves and make the change.

 Now that we have the newest technology available to mankind, the media is telling us that all the warnings in the past and now are accurate, and now is the time to start preparing, because of the known reoccurrences.  Before even if they did warn us about the Little Ice Age or the Medieval Warm Period people weren’t able to do anything, but now we can.  By minimizing our carbon dioxide productions by even 70 percent if we use the new technology available to us.  We can do so by switching over to more efficient cars, homes and even business environments.  So since we have the necessities for change we should use them to our benefit before the future cuts us off guard.                                                                                                                

Works CitedCarlisle, John “Natural Factors Cause Global Warming” Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (2002).Gale . Edison College lib. , Fort Myers, FL 30 June 2008 < http://find.galegroup.com/>Gelbspan, Ross “Global warming Is a Serious Environmental Threat” Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center (2001).Gale . Edison College lib. , Fort Myers, FL 30 June 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/>

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17. April 2009 by student.

In today’s poor economy women are being afflicted on a large scale by the same troubles as men; downturns, layoffs, oursourcing, or the discouraging prospect of an outright pay cut. I read in an article that according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2005 women in the workforce earned an average of 77 cents to every dollar a male earned. Yes this number reflects the economy of a few years past but has that much really changed? Or actually has it gotten worse due to the decline in our current economy. The comparison isnt necessarily exact but it does compare two individuals in that exact same job.  Another article that I read shows that one year out of college, women make 80 cents for every dollar earned by their male counterparts, with a big pay difference even when working in the same field and/or position.  So is there some justification for the difference?  Some may argue that men make choices that lead to higher annual salaries, such as working in jobs that require extensive travel, hazardous assignments, or provide less free time with family.

Most obviously, in childbearing couples, men and women are not created equal, and some of these salary-enhancing factors put childbearing women at a disadvantage. It may be hard for pregnant women to travel extensively or take on hazardous assignments due to the pregnancy. Only women become pregnant, deliver babies, and breastfeed. Child-bearing women must exit the workforce for, at very least, the amount of time it takes for prenatal care, delivery, and recovery. Men, by comparison, need not take any time at all , though many do, to attend appointments, provide care, and bond with new infants.  Is it really any surprise, then, that mothers are more likely than fathers to work part time or take leave when children are born? Or that a couple may be faced with the high cost of child care, might decide that the lower income earner should stay home or perhaps not immediately seek to reenter the workforce after a layoff, when the economy is bad? 

The economy may be hitting men and women equally, but there’s no question that other factors aren’t.  Even though The Equal Pay Act, passed in 1963, recognized this and seeks to correct it, this is still an active issue in our society. Do I believe that men should be paid more, well that depends on the position and amount of labor expected from the employee. I do however believe that if a male and a female have the exact same position they both should be paid based on their experience and amount of time employed with the company.  If the male has more to offer than of course he should be paid more, on the other hand if the female has the upper hand she should have the income to reflect her experience.

This is an issue that never seems to fade, what do you think about it?

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17. April 2009 by student.

Six years ago I was attending middle school in Poland, where our school director decided to include classes that educated about sex. Our classes were split into a group of girls and a group of boys where we were later separated into different rooms so we could all get our questions answered. In the girl’s classroom we were educated on how to be safe in a sexual intercourse; they also talked to us about a girl’s menstrual system, and explained how important it is to be an abstinent until marriage. The boy’s classroom on the other hand was educated on safe sex, controlling their feelings and also about being an abstinent until marriage. The only problems were that a lot of the students were humiliated to ask questions, and were also put down sometimes if they asked the wrong questions. But because of these classes a lot of the students didn’t talk about it in class as often and didn’t practice it, as it was spoken about before. When I moved to Florida and started my freshman year in high school I was surprised by how many people were talking about sex, and most of the time they weren’t even correct about what they were saying the reason was because they all weren’t educated. That’s why I think the schools should have classes that involve sex education.            The good qualities of sexual education is; that a lot of people then decide to wait because they  had found out how harmful it might be, with all of the sexually transmitted diseases  that are present. Most of the teens in Poland start sexual activity at the age of eighteen which is relatively high comparing to the average age of sixteen in the United States. With all the censored TV shows, censored magazines, and commercials, teens over here try to look for other sources to educate themselves and then get educated in the wrong way. They also don’t look into the fact that a lot of people can be caring sexually transmitted diseases that can be life threatening to them. Most of the times, teens decide to start a sexual intercourse with their friends /boyfriends because they think they are ready which is caused by the constant nagging of their partners or friends. The teen’s parents don’t help either because they don’t explain to their kids about being safe while having sex , until they are ready to have the talk with them  instead of them finding out the right time to tell you. I also think that we shouldn’t be taught only about abstinence because people should be able to see their options and not be put into a system of rules because most of the time if you enforce one rule, people will go do the opposite. In the article by Brooks, David “When Preaching Flops” he attempts to explain the reasons why some of the sex education hasn’t been working and why some have:Deciding is conscious and individual, but perceiving is subconscious and communal. The teen sex programs that actually work don’t focus on the sex. They focus on the environment teens live in. They work on the substratum of perceptions students use to orient themselves in the world. They don’t try to lay down universal rules, but apply the particular codes that have power in distinct communities. They understand that changing behavior changes attitudes, not the other way around. (Brooks, par.12)In this statement they I think are presenting that there should not be a sex education program but the education about teenage lifestyles, which in my personal opinion I think it would work. When you present the world to the teenagers, they will become more willing to seek their own path, rather than listening to what their friends, parents, or family have say. This will make the teenager more responsible for his or her mistakes in life, rather than blaming it all on their close friends or family. Causing teenagers to either continue with their old ways of listening to the friends nagging or become more mature and ignore the people around them to make the right choices.Another solution to this constant increasing rate of young people getting pregnant the government has been trying to enforce abstinence to the teens. This program has had a huge support from the government by giving these programs over $900million dollars so they could be put into schools. As of the moment I haven’t seen any sex education programs at either of our schools in this district which pretty much means he blew his money, or that our district hasn’t approved the program. On the other hand educators and scientists argue that the program of abstinence -only has been working well and the education has shown a huge difference in teen behavior and the teen pregnancy rate. In the article “Sex Education does not Work” by Anderson, Kerby and Kirsten Bailey they support the fact that “Proponents of abstinence-only programs argue that abstinence will significantly lower the teenage pregnancy rate, and they cited numerous anecdotes and statistics to make their case.”(Anderson and Bailey par.35) This is a very convincing statement but I haven’t seen it get put to use a lot of the districts don’t have the program where the students really need it. The programs are usually located in richer schools rather than the poorer, which I think is a huge mistake because in the poor sides of town teens are most likely to get pregnant or have a sexual relationship rather than the teenagers that have a stable lifestyle. And for the people that have already started a sexual relationship this program won’t help either because they don’t teach the safe ways of having a sexual relationship with their partners.All in all, I think their should be a huge range of sexual education that should have at least four groups in which they would include education for; teenagers that haven’t started a sexual relationship, teens that have had only one partner, teens that have had multiple partners, and teenagers that have already gotten a STD or have gotten pregnant. In this way teenagers would be directed in the right way to avoid problems or help them with the path they have already chosen. That in my opinion would work best rather than what has been shown by the government or by the educators of sex education at the time. The abstinence programs will work of course for only the teenagers that haven’t started a sexual relationship because then they will open their eyes to a healthier lifestyle. For the teens that have already began such a relationship but only have had one partner should get their partners tested and use condoms and other birth control concepts to keep them healthy and pregnant-free. The teens that have had multiple partners should most definitely get tested for any STDs that they might have gotten, and they should always be using a condom so that they cannot spread the disease or so they can prevent it. Other authors like the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League agrees to my point that an abstinence-only program does not work in many cases as they state  “Although abstinence-only education has garnered much recent attention, it does not address adequately the adolescent reproductive health crisis facing America’s youth. By failing to provide complete and accurate information regarding contraception and STD/HIV prevention, abstinence-only sexuality education is both dangerous and counterproductive. Comprehensive sexuality education, by contrast, is an important component of a strategy to reduce unintended pregnancy, reduce the need for abortion and reduce the incidence of STDs.”(National, par.25)That’s why I think teens should be educated about every issue of sexuality no matter what stage they might be in. The teens should be supported and educated at a younger age like 15 so that most of the teens can consider being abstinent to provide a healthier lifestyle for their future. 

Works CitedBrooks, David “When Preaching Flops “New York times .22 Jun 2007.Newsbank.Edison College Lib., Fort Myers, FL. 28 July 2007 <http:// infoweb.newsbank.com/>.Anderson, Kerby; Kirsten Bailey “Sex Education Does Not Work” 2005.Opposing views Resource center. Thomas Gale. Edison College Lib., Fort Myers, FL.28 July 2007 <http:// find.galegroup.com/>.Author: National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League.” Abstinence-Only Sex Education Cannot Reduce Teenage Pregnancy.”2003. Opposing views Resource Center. Thomas Gale. Edison College lib., Fort Myers, FL. 28 July 2007 <http://find.galegroup.com/>.

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17. April 2009 by student.

About 5 years ago I lived in Europe were public transportation is the easiest way to move around town. It is also the most popular way to travel, because of the expensive gas prices in Europe. Most of the people use buses, trolleys and trains to get around so they can save as much money as possible. I was also use to the freedom because my parents would let me travel alone in the city with public transportation. But my whole perspective changed when I moved to Florida on July 21^st 2003.I was 13 years old and I was use to the ability to go around town without my parents but when we moved that all quickly changed. There were no buses that had a route through my street, and the public transportation also had a bad reputation of having people that live on the streets use there services. My mom was worried about me traveling in such an environment of people. She didn’t allow me to use the public buses, so I had to depend on her to take me everywhere, which wasn’t that bad, until she got her new job. After that my life consisted of taking the school bus home, then watching TV, playing video games, and then when things got boring I ate. This habit made me gain a tremendous amount of weight. In a year I was considered obese, so I started dieting but that wasn’t the issue. I had to start moving but there was just no way that I could. This is the reason why a lot of the kids here are obese, basically from the inability to move or go around town. That‘s why I think there should be a change in public transportation.              If the public transportation would be proper, people would gain so many benefits. For example; People would be healthier and have a lot more exercise, because they would have to walk to their bus stops, instead of just getting into their cars. They would also save on gas money, because most of the time their cars would be sitting in the garage. The community would also benefit, by offering well paid jobs as bus drivers to the unemployed. Not only would that help, but there also would be less car accidents on the roads, which would cause car insurance to be less expensive. There would be less traffic on the roads also from the people traveling with public transportation. As author Yacht, Marc agrees “Affordable public transportation would reduce accidents, fatalities, stress, insurance rates and the need to fill our tanks with gasoline” (Yacht par.17). I think that teenagers would also be more responsible and respectful to their parents when they offer them a lift somewhere.             My suggestions for a better transportation would be to have more routes that cover the city more broadly rather than what we have at the moment. There should also be a security camera on every bus and each bus should be accompanied by a police officer for the people on the ride to have a keen sense of security. The buses should also provide a cool air conditioning for people to have the comfort of a cooling breeze after waiting on a bus stop at ninety degrees Fahrenheit, so they can experience a nice and cool ride, to tempt them to use public transportation more often.            The flaws in these suggestions are the costs of these services for the government. A lot of the air conditioned buses are very pricy. They also would burn more gas because of the air conditioning which causes the buses engine to work harder. Since there would be more routes, there would also have to be more bus drivers which would mean more money spending. Not to mention the extra police officers on each bus to supervise the situation. It could all seem like a lot of money at first but it all would return later with the peoples use. In the article by Yacht, Marc titled [sic] Public Transportation Proves To Be Clean, Friendly, Cheap And Swift he stated correctly “However, public transportation has to be convenient to the population, affordable and allow us to get to destinations with minimal delays” (Yacht par.6). That’s why a lot of people could not want to participate in public transportation because it would be a lot slower than driving with a car. Or because of their past unpleasant experiences with public bus transportation so they won’t even want to consider taking the bus again. With time though people would have adjusted and life would be a lot cheaper with these solutions.            Public transportation has a lot to improve but this could all be done by a little bit of government funding and the will for people to elect a governor that could support the idea of enlarging and enhancing a better transportation for the general public. Or for the people that can’t afford the twenty thousand dollar cars and people that have cars but want to save money on gas. But for right know without the proper public transportation we can just laugh from the quote “Without personal transportation in the region, I am reminded of comedian Jonathan Winters’ quip: “I know where it is, but you can’t get there from here!”(Yacht par.7). 

Works CitedYacht, Marc J. “Public Transportation Proves To Be Clean, Friendly, Cheap And Swift.”The Tampa Tribune (16 July 2007). NewsBank Inc. Edison College Lib., Fort Myers, FL 19 July 2007 <http://infoweb.newsbank.com/>

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