9. December 2011 by Mr. Andoscia.

It has been a great semester, folks.  Have a great break.  All blogs and comments have been graded from this point down.

Posted in Mr. Andoscia | 1 Comment »

9. December 2011 by student.

I think school choice is great in lee county. At the moment they are trying to get rid of it. Due to long bus rides. some students are on the bus for up to an hour each way. witch is causeing the county lots of money on gas. there are many schools in the discrict to choose from. I think you should be able to pick from the three closest schools to your home. taking away the choice of what school you want your child to go to could cause alot of issues. there might be better programs at one school, that their child might need. If we want to keep our kids off the long bus rides. they need to be in a school close to home. if a parent only gets to choose from one school they might take that as discrimination. certain schools have special programs for children with needs. 

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

9. December 2011 by student.

In a world where people are so concerned with rights of marriage, it surprises me that websites such as AshleyMadison.com exist. The site is designed for people who wish to have affairs outside of their marraige or for people to get involved with married men/women. If we’re so concerned with who is getting married, and how “wrong” it is for same sex marraige to be allowed and recognized, why isn’t anyone going against websites like these that support and ruin the sanctity of marriage.  It amazes me that the same people protesting the marriage of two men who want to pledge to be faithful to one another are the same ones signing onto the website to “meet up for some secret fun” http://www.ashleymadison.com/. Their motto is “Life is short, have an affair”..how about “Life is short, marriage is forever”. If straight couples are doing so bad, why not let same sex couples have a go?

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

9. December 2011 by student.

Gay Marriage is a controversial subject in the US today.  Many people are involved in the debate for or against it however I have no interest in being involved in the decision and the out come does not matter to me either way although I definitely have no desire to fight for gay marriage.  With that being said gay marriage is worth discussing because it is such a big deal in the US and for the fact that so many people are passionate about it.

The main arguments for gay marriage are

-gay marriage is a matter of justice

-marriage is a civilizing influence

-acceptance of everyone

The main arguments against gay marriage are

-marriage is for raising children

-the argument that if we allow gay marriage it is a start down a bad road of accepting more and more once frowned upon  things

-religion forbidding gay marriage

-gay marriage is wrong by definition

As I said before this issue does not mean a lot to me but I recognize its importance to others but what business would I have talking about it without at least expressing some of my opinion. The thing that makes the most sense to me is that sex primarily for pro creation and that is impossible for same sex couples. If you take away the aspect of it…. well we all love our friends and dont marry them. To go even further into my opinions, gay marriage is against my religion but not everyone follows my religion. The main thing for me is I doesnt bother me either way and no you cant have my help in your fight.

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »

9. December 2011 by student.

 In 1998, gay marriage was not largely a social issue.  Somehow gay marriage became a threat. And, by 2004, many states had passed resolutions making it illegal. they needed to do so specifically because the possibility of legal gay marriage had gained support for the first time in (recent?) U.S. history. People shouldnt get jugded or discriminated due to their choice of interest. When you have some states it being legal and others not, it creates conflict. a great example of how social “problems” are socially constructed. Why should it be ok in one state and not another. The United States is a whole.

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9. December 2011 by student.

In recent years, child obesity rates have skyrocketed in developing countries at alarming rates. The United States is one of the main victims of this statistic. Between the mid-1970s and the mid-2000s the percentage of overweight children ages two to five years increased from 5% to 13.9% and for children ages six to eleven years from 6.5% to 18.8%. Furthermore, overweight and obesity in teens increased from 5% to 17.4%. In 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 1.6 billion people over the age of fifteen were overweight and at least 400 million were obese.

Television, video games, and computers have replaced outside physical activity in the lives of most kids. While taking part in these activities, a child will tend to snack on food that is usually unhealthy. In addition, fewer children are walking to schools or riding their bikes. There is less recess time for children and fear of crime prevents outside play. Highly-processed, high-calorie meals and fast foods have replaced home made hearty meals. Instead of family meals, children are now snacking on foods such as cookies, chips, and sodas. Less than twenty percent of American children obtain the recommended serving of fruits and vegetables per day.

With obesity comes the possibility of serious health conditions it may cause. Although most are not likely to happen as early as childhood, they do develop rapidly in adulthood and may become more fatal. Some of the most common problems are type II diabetes, heart disease, bone and joint problems, etc.

Parents can play a big role in their child’s life by instilling correct and healthy habits. Serving healthy foods, methods like baking or broiling, eliminating junk foods, and eating meals together as a family can help children find an ideal weight.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

9. December 2011 by student.

In today’s society it is very easy to stalk people and get personal information. The season is because people today post personal information because other do. People post emails, phone numbers, and even their home address for the public to view. Most of this information can be found on social media sites such as twitter and Facebook. As we head into the future, technology has made our lives easier and more vulnerable. The reason being is that hackers are now looked upon as terrorists and also the voice of people. They are beginning to be referred as hacktivists. Hackers seen themselves as the strong kid in who had low self esteem and one day punched someone and realized how strong they are. Hackers consider themselves to be the final boss of the internet. Most stand for freedom on the internet and if companies try to censor information they feel as if it is their duty to stop the censorship. Many people love for what they stand for and other hate that websites and networks can be hacked. The PlayStation Network was hacked and had thousands of credit card numbers stolen from their database. Other political figures such as Sarah Palin had her personal email hacked into. Hackers want for the truth to be available to the public as well as accessible. It is now that people that live in their parents basement can have a role and be able to stand up to global giants and be seen as voices of the people. While others use the ability to hack into site for their own pleasure. With the ease of accessing the internet increases and more people going online, it is easy for hackers to gain access to sensitive information of others but also stand up for freedom on the internet.

Posted in Introduction to Sociology | 1 Comment »

9. December 2011 by student.

Gangs are a social phenomenon that we must tackle, because the activity that the members engage is typically illegal and dangerous for other members of society. Such activities range from drug dealing to murder. The murder typically takes place against other rival gang members. If asked about gangs to anyone on the street their reply would be, it’s a bad thing. They don’t give anything to society or they cost tax payers money from the damage they contribute on the street. These damages could be distributing drugs on the street which leads to addiction and medicals costs for those people. Also, they damage property by shootings, and robberies.

            Are gangs a social problem? It depends on how you look at it. The statistics according to justice.gov gang activity has been rising from 2004 to 2008. The year 2007 and 2008 seems to level out looking at the graph. Another statistic taken from justice.gov is the statistic of membership. It is calculated that there is 1 million gang members in the United States and 21,500 gangs. That is quite a bit and rather intimidating. There is a couple of small problems with gang membership. The claim to be a gang member varies between different gangs. Gangs don’t keep a record (from what I know) of every single gang members. Also, people who associate themselves with gang members might be consider gangs members, even though they don’t consider themselves one.

            Why do people join gangs? This question is in essence what most people want to know, because if you can figure out why they join, then you can end it. Some research suggest that they join, because protection against other gangs, fitting in, money, friends, and family.

            Gangs are a social issue, but since crimes are going down and they are composed of the 90 percent of crimes in America, are they dying?

http://www.justice.gov/ndic/pubs32/32146/gangs.htm#Figure2

http://www.nationalgangcenter.gov/

http://people.howstuffworks.com/street-gang.htm

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments »

9. December 2011 by student.

Unemployment, is one of the main social problems we are faced with everyday, and a few steps can be taken to help create more jobs. One of my first ideas is to limit class sizes. If you limit the size of classes in public education you can not only create a need for more teachers, but you can also increase child attention, making actual learning go up.

Another idea is to increase the avilibilty of child programs in the parks department. By increasing this, you will create more jobs to after school helpers, and tutors, and you will also be helping kids get outside, and interact with eachother that will reduce child obesity.

Jobs could also be added by emphasising, and preserving the historical landmarks. Tourists love to see the history behind a city, and if you have people to lead tours, and help upkeep the matinence, you are creating a need for more jobs, and pumping more money into the ecnomy.

Posted in Social Problems | 3 Comments »

9. December 2011 by student.

Child obesity: Stefan Pfeffer

Posted in Social Problems | 1 Comment »