Philadelphia, City of Brotherly Love or City of Bad Images?

By Diomassi Sissoko



Philadelphia is one of the biggest city in United States. It is full of histories of our nation. Starting by Liberty Belt to the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia is the home of many heroes of the world; like Benjamin Francklin, Betsy Ross and many other people who worked hard to make United States a great country. Today Philadelphia is more than the city of brotherly love. A city that is consider as one of the poorest, dirtiest and crime city in the United States.

Philadelphia is the second dirtiest city in the U.S. Any where you are in the city, you can see trash in the floor. People are standing next to the trash cans, but they prefer troy trash in the floor.

Philadelphians or any other people are scare to be out at late night at Philadelphia because they don`t want to be victims of any type of crimes. Last summer many people did want to come to our city because of flash mob. For example, one day I was watching the news and a store was robbed and when they interviewed a woman from that city, she said that she was surprised to see a negative thing like this in her city. She said that she usually see bad thing like this in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is consider as one of the city with the highest rate of welfare especially food stamp. In the beginning of the school of this year, Philadelphia Mayor, Michael Nutter was obliged to go to Harrisburg, so the city can have more money for the education budget.

In conclusion, Philadelphia deserves more than being a city with negative images. We, Philadelphians need to work hard and take care of our city, so it can keep the image of the City of Brotherly Love and become one of the richest city in the United States. This are some links where you can find more negative things about Philadelphia:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/youve-damaged-your-own-race-philly-mayor-blasts-teens-flash-mobs/
http://cleanupphilly.blogspot.com/

The Problems With Mixed Cultural Relationships

By Teairah Tate

Some may say “society has indeed accepted mixed cultural relationships,” but really have they come to grips that maybe a African American can marry a Jew or a Chinese can marry a Indonesian. My answer is no. Media has deceived people into thinking that mixed cultural relationships can get into a intimate relationship and live happily ever after, when if you actually read between the lines all its saying, is that this is America and we can co-exist but not intertwine. Take two similar cultures or what a person could consider similar, African Americans and Africans. First some background, African Americans is anyone of an African decent or origin meaning derived form African. Africans are people that weren’t born in America, Yet many has a citizenship here. In a different culture one would ask “well whats the difference?” And they will get slim answers similarities and a large number of differences, one being the way we go about dating and marriage.

The question is when families of different cultures leave there native land, why cant they leave there cultural beliefs behind to adapt to the American society”fully”? We have this thing called becoming Americanized and when you become Americanized you are deemed acceptable to are culture. Yet in the case of being with an African man of the igbo tribe, is highly frowned upon if they were to even be brought up in the same sentence with an American woman. My thoughts is that its extremely unfair to come to a new country and not accept the norms of being in a honest relationship of whoever you want to be with. But the problem really lies into what African American cultures display to the world. Especially the women. A lot of what is put into the media is stereotypes and biases about young black woman and it should be a crime to exploit us in that way, because of the bad reputation we get from the cultures around the world. In closing, I was in a relationship where as though my culture was unacceptable in theirs, and I winded up with a broken heart, hurt feeling and bad memories, And finally saying, that my perception of Africans will never be the same.

Are you complaining?

By Olaitan Okusaga


One day a father of a very wealthy family took his son on a trip to the country with the firm purpose of showing his son how poor people live. They spent a couple of days and nights on the farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return from their trip, the father asked his son, "How was the trip?"

"It was great, Dad"
"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.
"Oh yeah," said the son.
"So, tell me, what did you learn from the trip?" asked the father.
The son answered: "I saw that we have one dog and they had four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.
We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We have servants who serve us, but they serve others. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us, they have friends to protect them."
The boy's father was speechless.
Then his son added, "Thanks, Dad, for showing me how poor we are."
Isn't perspective a wonderful thing? Makes you wonder what would happen if we all gave thanks for everything we have, instead of worrying about what we don't.

Sexual graphic is everywhere! Stop selling it!

By Khanh Nguyen

Couple days ago, I participated in my class game, we were asking about the topics that are covered in the final exam. I came up several times, one of the times, I was asked to give a example of commercial of Sex.  I took the opportunity to answer the question, I said “porn”. Everyone in class was laughing. I felt embarrass at that moment. I asked myself that “Did I say something wrong, at least in the wrong time at a wrong place?”  I went to talk to one of my friend and he told me that people instead of saying “porn” directly, they prefer “adult graphics”.

I kept thinking about that till the next day, and then I suddenly thought out one thing that no matter how nicely the terms that people use to call “porn”, it is still a sex material and pornography is one of the largest media industries in the world. It is a little awkward to hear or say this word in public but with me it is reality.

We can catch the images in many types, many ways.  We can see them form the TV reality shows to advertisement billboards, to magazines and sometimes in propagandas.

In the modern world when Sex is no longer private and people can easily catch these images everywhere. For example, couple months ago, there was a crisis between parents and the casinos in Atlantic City when one of their advertisement billboards of one of the shows that contained strong sexual graphic was placed along the Atlantic express way.

Anyway, I think that people should reconsider about Sex and place it back to its original spot as “human reproduction activity”. Reveal Sex in public is one of shortest way to bring us back to our ancestor age and destroy the modern world society.

Obese And Fast Food In America

Diane Mitchell

Here in America there are a lot of people that are obese. The situation are getting so bad that now young children are overweight and they are being diagnosed with diabetes. Since we live in a very fast pace and busy lifestyle most Americans are not able to cook all of the time. We tend to buy fast food almost everyday and drink lots of sugary drinks. We spend most of our money on fast food which is a problem in American society.

We as Americans have to know that eating healthy is not a hard thing to do, as long as we can just find time to make a quick healthy dinner at home or not just dinner, beakfast and lunch as well, there would be less obese people in our society. We can eat fruit for beakfast and it don't have to be scrambled eggs with pork becon and french toast or waffles with syrup and butter. We have to find healthier ways of eating. Lunch can be much healthier too. We don't have to buy Mc Donalds or Taco Bell etc. We can make a sandwich from home or sometimes pack leftovers from last nights dinner, that would be a great way to same money and eat healthier. Dinner could be baked chicken with vegetables and rice. Chicken don't have to be fried and that's another problem in our society, we have to learn to stay away from fried food. 

I know that in other countries their eating habits are much healthier. People from other countries don't eat fast foods as much and that's because most of the time they don't have the money to waste or can't easily get to a fast food place. So most people that live in other countries or people that are from other countries love to cook and are eating healthier. Since we live in a very fast pace lifestyle we need to find time were we can cook a healthy dinner and try our best to stay away from fast food.

Here in American we need to realize that we are spending to much of our money on fast food. If we can try and go a week without fast food we all will see how much money we have saved and we would feel much healthier with just taking fast food away for a week and that also goes for the sugary drinks.

Education

By: Irina Pavlava

Education is purposeful process or experience thorough which society has formative effect on minds, characters, or physical ability of each individual. In its technical sense, society deliberately transmits its accumulated knowledge, skills, and values from one generation to another.

It is impossible to become successful person without having a decent education. Education is not only a learning at school, college or university, and a process that "comes on one's heels" of man all his life from birth to old age. For example, it is impossible to become a good teacher, only to acquire knowledge in a prestigious college. In addition to pedagogical education a teacher must constantly upgrade his or her knowledge and skills for many years on the job. This suggests that the process of education must be sustained for long time.

System of formal education in almost of all countries consists of preschool, primary (or elementary), secondary and post-secondary (or higher) education.  Each of the periods of education system gives to person a specific knowledge, skills and life experience. Many countries take huge attention to primary and secondary education. Governments pour huge fund into these types of education system, but on preschool education, I think, they don’t pay enough attention.

My point is that preschool education is more important for person. Because during these early years (from birth to 5 years), a human being is capable of absorbing more information at a time than they will ever be able to again. The environment of the young child influences the development of cognitive skills and emotional skills due to the rapid brain growth that occurs in the early years. Studies have shown that high quality preschools have a short and long term effect in improving the outcomes of a child, especially a disadvantaged child.

The parents are the first teacher for infant, and then the relatives, preschool teachers come to help parents in education of the child. Our life depends of how much attention, skills and knowledge we received in early childhood period. If parents, preschool teachers give more knowledge and more attention to the child, then he or she would adapt easier to the school, then a college, and make more friends during the person's life. 

I have remarked only an education base, its first step- preschool education because I think that this section of education is deprived of government attention. Government should take into account this cost in the countries’ budgeting and allocating money for cost item like education. 

What do you think?

Education is very important value for our society, and his fundamental place is in the early childhood. Then, during a lifetime, a person can improve or not it, depending of him/her self.

Education in society

By: Fatoumata Ndiaye

Education is very important for a person's success in life. Education is one of the most essential part of human development, it is a key to eliminating poverty. Education have been given a lot of attention to industrialized nation because it is one of the ways by which people are evaluated. It is generally seen as the establishment of society which brings economic wealth, social prosperity and political stability. If a nation does not hold educated people,the chances of development in that country are low because the people can not effectively contribute to the development of their country.

The best investment for the people is education because well educated people have more opportinuties to get a job which gives them satisfaction. Education plays a big and important role in getting a good job specially in today's economy.One good example is that if two people presented in a job opportinuty, the educated one will definitely get the post because he/she probably has mor knowledge and skills. Education is the key to move in the world, seek better jobs and succeed in life.

This video above talks about education and empolyment which i think are linked together because in order to get a high position of employment you definitely need a certain degree of education.

In conclusion, education is fondamental in a society because it contributes in a development of a society.

Gender

By: Sandra Feliciano

Gender is defined as socially learned expectations and behaviors associated with members of each sex. Society uses this definition to determine the gender of someone and to judge people on how they act.

Even before a child is born, people set up expectations for that child based on its gender. We teach girls and boys how to act according to gender and what toys to play with and what clothes to wear. We look negatively on boys that want to wear girl’s clothes or play with girls toys. But girls who may be tomboys are not scrutinized. Society drills in us these gender norms all throughout our lives and it makes anyone who doesn’t follow those to be excluded and made to feel as if they are wrong and/or bad.

Canadian Family Keep Infants Gender a Secret

So how do we change these gender norms and stereotypes to allow people to feel free and comfortable to be themselves when most of us in some ways believe these norms to be appropriate? There is a family in Canada that is breaking the gender roles with their children by withholding the sex of their newborn. They are choosing to raise their children “gender neutral”. They are choosing to allow their children to discover who they are themselves and not by the labels given to them by society. Their other sons are allowed to pick their own clothes in either the girls or boys section, play with whatever toys they chooses, and wear their hair the way they want.  The children are encouraged to express themselves and discover who they are while being aware that people might not be so accepting of their choices.

Are there any consequences to allowing gender lines to be blurred? Yes. Society has been so accustomed to the “normal” roles of men and women that change will not always be looked at positively. Society will initially reject those who are different until more education and awareness is brought to them. So even though these parents in Canada are allowing their children to make their own choices about who they are, they are also setting their kids up to be hurt by others treatment.

So which is better? To instill in your child the norms and roles of a person of their sex despite what they may feel? Or to allow your child to choose who they will be despite the sex they were born? I think that there should be limits to what we teach our children and a certain amount of freedom we should give them to make their own decisions. But until people become more open minded, we have to protect our child and make them aware that people may be hurtful. We should also teach our children to be happy with whom they are and for ourselves to be happy and accepting of whom are children are.

Gender

By: Aftab Ali

      As biology differentiate sexual difference between male and female, society also plays a very strong role in distinguishing gender role. For example, children realize gender expectations before they come to know biological difference between male and female. From dress to play in the early childhood, children know about his/her status and role in the society. As they grow up they come to know other complicated difference between male and female. They observe and learn from their parents, teachers and from outside world. The culture which I belong to from Pakistan, as children grow up, girls stay inside home and play indoor games and helping their mothers in kitchen and other house work. Boys stay most of the time outside, and play outdoor games and help with their fathers in fields. If boys play with girls even to their relatives inside the house or girls want to play with boys outside, both are violating social norms.

      When I was young, I was going to school with my older sister. She was young too. But when she reached to the 5^Th grade she went to girls’ school from boys’ school. She was young but that is the culture that is the culture the girl should be in girl’s school.  The society makes the rules which are masculine and which are feminine.  For example, when I was young I and my two brothers were going to the fields with my father every day but I never saw my sister accompanied us. The society made this rules that females have nothing to do with fields or outside hard work, although, I know many cultures where women work in the fields like men or with the men every day for the whole life.

      My analysis is that society is very important in gender role. Every society has different norms which have to follow. Culture also has a strong role in people’s lives even more than religion. For example women are allowed to pray in Mosques in Islam. But I never saw a woman in Mosque in my society. In my culture women are not allowed to pray in Mosques. And if suppose the female are allowed to pray in Mosques with men. I am sure they will not go to Mosques. Praying in the Mosques is masculine. So to conclude my points that there are many cultures around the world which have their own cultural rules. Every culture looks weird to other people but still they are important for their own people.

Are you a Deviant?

By, Idella Logan

                          Deviance-behavior that violates social norms or rules

   

 One word can have different meanings. When I think of the word deviance I automatically picture a straight up criminal or a down and dirty rebel  ready to go to jail. Yes, the majority of the time deviance is bad but when I actually thought about it, sometimes being a deviant or having that deviant behavior can be for the better. Deviant behavior can actually benefit society. Let's go back way back in time to December 1, 1955 with Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks, who was middle class working woman living in the then segregated state of Alabama, was labeled a deviant  for the refusal of giving up her seat. Of course she was locked up because back then the Montgomery, Alabama city code required that all public transportation be segregated and that bus drivers had the "powers of a police officer of the city while in actual charge of any bus for the purposes of carrying out the provisions" of the code. Although  the city's bus ordinance did give drivers the authority to assign seats, it didn't specifically give them the authority to demand a passenger to give up a seat to anyone. But because of Rosa's color they demanded her to give it up and when she didn't follow the rules they took her away.

  In this case some people would look at Rosa Parks as the deviant because of her act of refusal of a seat after a long day of hard work. Those rude people would scream "Shame on her"! But if you really think about it the only act of deviance in this situation was the bus driver who demanded her to get up out of her seat. This situation is the perfect example of how societies definition of deviance can be turned into a good thing. Because of her acts she brought awareness to how ridiculous and wrong segregation was. It helped launch nation-wide efforts to end segregation of public facilities. So, I now realized that maybe being a deviant is not bad all the time. Violating "social norms or rules" can be good thing to make a difference. Sometimes even doing so can even make you a national icon like Rosa Parks. It would be nice to be a national icon.

Deviance

By: Diane Mitchell

Deviance is "a state or condition markedly different from the norm." Sometimes we wonder why people act in deviance, but there are many reasons why. I can say that most people have acted in deviance many times without even knowing. Breaking the norm sometimes are very normal and sometimes it's more severe than others.

In a prison there were men that tattooed the white of their eyes. One man said that "it was different and that's why he did it." He wanted to do something extremely different from what the rest of society did when it came to tattoos.

This two year old toddler from Indonesia smokes "two packs of cigarettes a day." In Indonesia there are many toddlers that smoke at that age and that's because the government didn't really educated them about the dangers of smoking cigarettes. In our society a two year old toddler shouldn't smoke anything. They shouldn't even know how to light a lighter. We all know that Toddlers should be playing with toys and just being active in activities that will prepare them for kindergarten. There are lots of people that act in deviance. On Halloween, believe it or not people are acting in deviance because we are dressed in costumes to be something we are not. Sometimes when people go out to clubs they may act in deviance by dancing way too wild and getting very drunk. If a person is gay, they are considered deviant.

As you see deviance is not only seen in violence, it's more than that. We all in some point of our lives deviated. Even if we was just playing around by doing crazy things to make people laugh or to get someone's attention. People can act in deviance in many ways. So just because you might see a person deviating does not always mean that the person is bad. We have to remember that everyone is different in their own way.

Mass Media

By Junly Chroy

Socialization [soh-shuh-luh-zey-shuhn]- the process of learning the norms of your social position.

Mass media is one of our first encounters of society. This part of socialization influences children through shows, cartoons and most importantly commercials. Socialization that comes through the form of media interpretive the children’s behaviors such as characters, images and words. Media as an agent of socialization acts upon our children but supposedly only strives to entertain. Today in society children spend more time in front of the TV rather interacting with friends and family. Media is full of powerful and seductive messages ultimately influencing values When a parent tells their children to do something and in return receives a negative outburst is it because the media contradicts what their parent's are attempting to teach their children? The power of media remains strong. Everything that is important is weakening.
 

Mass Media includes:

• Television
• Radio
• Movies
• Music
• Books, magazines,etc
• Internet

  
My Opinion

When children observe messages some will behave differently but most likely they will be confused. This sends a bad message to our children. Plus it is very sad because it is made in the U.S.A.
 

The a cartoon show Ni Hao Kai-Lan is watched by my niece regularly. It is a very cute, innocent and colorful show but I have experienced my niece picking up bad habits from the cartoon show. For example, my neice has learned how to throw tantrums and cry according to the main character in the cartoon. My sister and I were initially lost to where she was picking up this behavior until one day when we noticed similarities in the tantrum thrown by my niece and the character from the cartoon.  My niece has adapted the behaviors of Ni Hao Kai- Lan when she gets frustrated. Since then, my niece was forbidden from watching the show and as a result her behavior has improved.

Sponge bob is another children’s show but ironically it has a lot of sexual references.

 


Tom and Jerry too much violence.

Media is a very complex medium of dissimulating information. It has the potential to do good but also means that it can also can cause harm. In the case of my niece and her tantrums, it illustrates the tacitly we as adults must exercise when we expose kids to what might we may consider to be seemingly harmless programming. We as adults have to be careful of what we let our children watch in the media.