Chocolate for the Mind

Rival gangs are fighting over territory in New York.  The Jets are a white gang, and the Sharks are Puerto Ricans who have moved in.  At the dance, the two gang leaders plan a war council.  Bernardo, the leader of the Sharks sees Tony, one of the Jets, dancing with his sister Maria.  He forbids her to ever speak to Tony again.  Tony runs through Maria’s neighborhood calling her name, and she comes out onto the fire escape where he serenades her.  They promise to meet the next day.  At the war council, Tony convinces the two gangs to have a fight without weapons between their best fighters instead of a rumble.  When Tony comes to the bridal shop where Maria works, she begs him to call off the fight.  He agrees to try to stop it, and he and Maria imagine their wedding.  Tony goes to stop the fight, but ends up causing Riff and Bernardo to have a knife fight.  While Tony is keeping Riff from hurting Bernardo, Bernardo stabs Riff.  Then Tony stabs Bernardo.  He runs to see Maria, and they plan to run away together.  Tony hides at Doc’s candy shop, and Maria sends Anita to tell him that she will be there.  Anita runs into the Jets, and they taunt and abuse her until she says that Chino killed Maria out of jealousy.  Doc tells Tony what Anita said, and he goes looking for Chino to kill him too.  As he sees Maria, Chino shoots Tony.  He dies in Maria’s arms with both gangs gathered around.  She takes the gun from Chino and asks how many of them she can kill and still have a bullet for herself, but she cannot shoot anyone. The scene ends with members of both gangs carrying Tony’s body away.

Made in 1971, directed by Norman Jewison, set in pre-revolutionary Russia 1905, in the village called Anatevka
The inhabitants of the village are very religious and hold their Jewish traditions strongly.  The others in the village who are not Jewish so far have not bothered the Jews.  One tradition is that the families use a matchmaker to pick husbands for their daughters, but the matchmaker always picks old or undesireable husbands for Tzeitel because Tevye is poor.  The oldest daughter must marry before any of the others can, but Tzeitel does not want to have any of the men the matchmaker picks for her.  Tevye wants to be a rich man.  In another village the Jews all got evicted.  Tzeitel wants to marry the tailor, but he is afraid that her father will say no.  Tevye brings home a student from Kiev, Perchik, who wants to teach his daughters in exchange for food.  Golde, Tevye’s wife, wants him to talk to the butcher, Lazar Wolf, because Lazar wants to marry Tzeitel.  However, Lazar is about the same age as Tevye.  Tevye agrees though because he is rich and Tevye wants his daughter to be well provided for.  The two go to the tavern for a drink and everyone there starts celebrating with them.  The constable tells Tevye that there will be a demonstration, like a pogrom which is an anti-Jewish riot.  Perchik tells the second daughter Hodel that in the city, people are breaking from traditions.  He shows her a new dance, and she starts to fall in love with him.  Tevye tells Tzeitel that she will marry Lazar Wolf, and she begs him not to force her.  Motel the tailor then tells Tevye that he wants to marry her and that they gave each other a pledge to marry each other.

Mr. Bean – Mr. Bean is impatient to get somewhere because he was trying to pass another car dangerously.  He is nervous about sitting next to a much larger man who looks intimidating. He and the man are trying to one-up each other by having the most pens. He is shaking his head and looking nervous because he doesnt know the material on the exam.  He is frustrated with the man next to him for throwing out his answers after he copied. He is flustered when he realizes that he was working on the wrong test. He is embarrassed that someone sees him trying to put on a “bathing suit”…  The man is blind.
Mr. Bean is a horrible driver because he always runs into something when he is parking. He is bored in church and keeps looking around. He is disgusted because he had to blow his nose in his pocket liner. He starts to fall asleep on the man sitting next to him, and the man feels uncomfortable. He tries to blame the people behind him for making noise by looking behind him. He tries to be inconspicuous when picking up the piece of candy he dropped. He forgets that he blew his nose in his pocket and puts the candy in that pocket.

The Return of Mr. Bean – Mr. Bean sees a street performer playing the saxophone and wants to give him money, but he doesnt want to give him his paper money, so he pretends to be a performer too, so he can get money to give to the other man. he goes shopping and is excited to have a credit card. He walks in through the perfume department and can’t stand all the smells. He tries out all of the things he looks at before he buys them. A man in line accidentally takes his credit card, and Mr. Bean tries to get it back without letting the man know. His hand gets stuck in the man’s pocket and he has to follow him into the bathroom. At a fancy restaurant, he pretends to send himself a card. He counts his money before he orders, implying that he only has a certain ammount. His meat looks raw, and he listens to it as if he thinks it is still alive. He attempts to hide parts of his meat in different places, including a man’s pants. He pretends to be offended when a waiter spills food on his table, and they bring him another dish. He is waiting to meet the royal family, and he is practicing his bow. He sees that his shoes aren’t as shiny as the man next to him has, so he tries to shine them on his pants. Then he uses large ammounts of breath spray because he thinks his breath smells bad. He files his nail on his zipper but cant get his pants zipped back. Everyone panics when he knocks over the queen.

The Curse of Mr. Bean – Mr. Bean enters a parking garage and cannot reach the ticket, so he uses a grabber arm thing to get it. At the pool, he sees the kiddy slide and wants to go on that, but the lifeguard stopps him. He tries to jump off the high dive but gets scared when he sees how high up it is. He acts nonchalant when two kids are waiting to jump off after him. They are impatient because he is taking a long time to jump. He climbs over the side, and gets scared again, but he can’t get back up. One of the kids steps on his fingers to make him let go. He looses his swim trunks, and a little girl pickes them up. He has to get out of the pool, but he doesn’t want anyone to see. A group of girls sees him, and they get scared. He has to pay too much for parking, so he tries to go out the exit by getting a new ticket. He ends up almost running over a car on his way out. He goes to the park to eat lunch, and there is another man there eating a sandwich. Mr. Bean starts making his own sandwich from scratch. He uses his sock to dry his lettuce. The man next to him looks uncomfortable the whole time. He grinds his own pepper with his shoe and uses a hot water bottle to make tea. He sneezes and drops his sandwich and spills his tea, so the man offers the other half of his pre-made sandwich. He goes to a scary movie, and acts like a murderer with a knife and a chainsaw to scare the woman next to him. The movie scares him more than it does her. He tries to say that it’s late and he has to go, but the man next to him won’t let him out. He puts his sweater over his head, and the woman thinks he lost his head and screams. After the movie is over, he pretends not to be scared again.

Imagine walking into a building and seeing hundreds of people all wearing the same thing. You would probably expect this place to be a government building or army office. However, this is the picture of many public high schools today that are adopting school uniforms. While uniforms often make students feel safer, they limit student’s individuality, cause other behavioral problems, and inconvenience parents financially.

The most vociferous objection to school uniforms by students is that uniforms detract from the students’ ability to express themselves. Students need to experiment with their image in a safe way, such as clothing, rather than by using drugs or by having eating disorders. Especially as students mature into young adults, they need to discover what kind of personality and style they want to display to the world. Being forced into uniformity “[lowers] the scope for personality development and self discovery” (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/school-uniforms-pros-and-cons.html). Although some students use clothing as a symbol to discriminate against others for not having the right designer jeans, many students who do not wear accepted styles are happy with their own personal style, and uniforms would hinder the expression of that style.

Another con of school uniforms is that they often cause more behavioral problems than they help. Students that are naturally rebellious will find a way to get around the uniform policy. They will often “alter their school uniform by tightening, widening, shortening, or lengthening” it to fit the latest fashions (http://www.articlesbase.com/advice-articles/pros-and-cons-of-school-uniforms-182.html).  Clothing sends many nonverbal symbols, and uniforms may not help the distraction caused by clothing. Many students send or receive impressions such as the “sexy school girl” message that “could lead to more corruption of the mind” than everyday clothing (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/school-uniforms-pros-and-cons.html).  Clothing truly does create distractions and behavioral problems among students,  but uniforms do not solve these problems as fully as advocates of school uniforms claim.

School uniforms inconvenience parents as well as students.  Although parents can often purchase uniforms at discounted prices, they still have to buy two whole wardrobes for their students.  Saying that school uniforms save parents money is a logical fallacy because it fails to take into account the fact that students need other clothes for everyday wear.  Most students and parents agree that ”there is no use for [school uniforms] outside of school,” so “children will still want and need clothing for the hours they are not in school”  (http://kids.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Pros_and_Cons_of_School_Uniforms).  In the long run, uniforms are a financial inconvenience, especially for lower-income families.

The debate over school uniforms continues to rage in schools across the country.  While some see uniforms as a solution to student rebellion and violence, others view them as nothing more than a “Band-Aid that fails to address the real causes of youth violence” (http://school.familyeducation.com/educational-philosophy/individuality/38676.html).  Uniforms also limit students’ ability for interpersonal communication through self-expression, create other behavioral problems, and strain parents financially.

Many schools around the world are realizing that students can use digital music players such as iPods to cheat on tests.  Students can download formulas and crib notes or record the answers to tests ahead of time and simply play them back during the test.  Some schools are just recently imposing the bans, but students say that they have been using iPods to cheat for much longer than teachers realize.  While digital music players can be used to cheat, some schools like Duke University think that iPods can be beneficial to learning.

While iPods can be useful for sharing information, there are other ways for students to access the same information without the risk of cheating.  iPods, like cell phones, should not be allowed for use during a test because there is no way for teachers to control the information content that students receive on these devices.  With computers schools have more control over what information students can and cannot use by blocking certain sites.  However, iPods as a source of entertainment should not be so hastily banned.  There are times in the school day when students would enjoy a break from stress and when having personal music players would not distract them or their classmates from learning.  For instance, some students finish their work earlier than others, and listening to music on an iPod would not distract the rest of the class from their work.  Also, some students can concentrate better with music, so iPods should be allowed to be used during assignments in which cheating is not an issue.

link to an article about the usefulness of iPods in school

Summaries:
Earthquake
An earthquake in Chile triggered a tsunami that left many in coastal towns homeless and without food, water, or electricity.  The earthquake was an 8.8 magnitude quake that killed 723 people.  The death toll is expected to rise as communication improves.  The tsunami came in three waves that swept away homes and a bus full of fleeing tourists.  Chile’s navy did not announce a tsunami warning immediately following the earthquake, which might have prevented hundreds of deaths.  The maritime radio informed citizens that there was no threat of a tsunami.  Port captains in many coastal towns saved lives by issuing tsunami warnings themselves, and some citizens warned others as they saw the waves approaching. 

Global Warming
Partially due to a winter with record snowfalls across the United States, public concern about global warming is decreasing.  More people are skeptical about whether global warming is actually occurring, and of those who do believe, the number who are concerned about global warming’s effects is significantly less.  The public is losing confidence in the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and congressional action to prevent global warming has almost stopped.  However, organizations such as NASA and the Pentagon are still convinced in a changing climate.

European Storm
A storm that hit France, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, and parts of Germany killed 62.  France was the hardest hit, and about half of the deaths in France are attributed to old or ineffective sea walls around coastal towns.  Some walls even dated to the time of Napoleon.

Similarities:

All three stories deal with recent weather events.
All three stories cite some public discontent with the effectiveness of government warning or response to natural events.
All three somehow relate to the changes in Earth’s climate and weather.

“We have to ask how in France, in the 21st century, families can be surprised in their sleep and drown in their homes.”  This quote from France’s president describes the ineffective warning methods in place in France, a modernized nation.  I think this quote is meaningful because it shows that no matter how advanced our society gets, nature can still surprise us.

Because the question of whether or not spanking should be allowed as a form of punishment is so controversial, there are many misconceptions relating to the effects of spanking on children. The media has publicised several studies that seem to indicate that spanking is a display of violent aggression that causes children to have social, mental, behavioral, and even sexual problems later in life. The claim that spanking causes children to become more aggressive, however, has little evidence to support it in most cases.

A study by Gunnoe and Mariner of the Department of Psychology at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan concluded that “claims that spanking teaches aggression seem unfounded” in most cases (Gunnoe). The only group studied in which the number of playground fights increased was “8- to 11-year-old white boys in single-mother families,” and the number of fights decreased for “children aged 4 to 7 years and for children who are black.” The results of this study seem to indicate that a combination of factors, not just spanking alone, causes an increase in aggressive behavior. Another study conducted by Robert E. Larzelere examined if reasoning with a child about why they received a spanking would prevent the child from becoming aggressive.  For preadolescents and adolescents, “spanking had a minimal effect on aggression for frequent reasoners” (Larzelere).  This study shows that as long as parents explain why they are administering the spanking, children will not learn aggressive behavior from spanking.

Children can become aggressive towards their parents and other students because of punishment they receive.  However, to say that spanking itself causes this aggression is unwarranted by experimental data.  Instead, a combination of factors, such as age, family situation, and communication between the parent and child determines whether each individual child will pick up aggressive behaviors.

Spanking has been a long supported tradition in many American households.  However, many new studies show that spanking has adverse effects on children.  While some instances, such as a child running into the street, may require the immediate response of spanking, corporal punishment can create behavioral and social problems for children later in life.

A common problem for children who have been spanked is an increase in anti-social behavior.  A study by M. A. Straus, D. B. Sugarman, and J. Giles-Sims of the University of New Hampshire found that “more spanking at the start” of the study led to a “higher … level of ASB 2 years later” (Straus).   Corporal punishment aimed to reduce anti-social behavior tended instead to increase anti-social behavior.  The effects of spanking can also continue into adulthood.  In a survey of people who had never reported a history of abuse during childhood, MacMillan, Boyle, Wong, Duku, Fleming, and Walsh observed that ”those who reported being slapped or spanked” were more likely to develop “anxiety disorders,” “alcohol abuse or dependence,” and “externalizing problems” than those who were never spanked (MacMillan).  This proves that even corporal punishment not categorized as abuse can increase the risk of psychological disorders in adults.

Spanking is typically a short-term solution that can create long-term problems.  With all of the risks associated with spanking as a form of punishment, the possible benefits of corporal punishment seem less significant. 

The debate over whether or not to use corporal punishment on children has been raging for several years.  Supporters believe that spanking is the only way to get a message across to a disruptive child, while opponents believe that spanking is abusive and harmful to a child later in life.  What most people fail to realize is that spanking is not abusive when used in moderation in a controlled, non-violent manner.

In New Zealand researchers from the Dunedin multidisciplinary health and development studied the differences in the behaviors of children who were “smacked lightly with an open hand on the bottom, hand or leg” and those who were punished by other methods of corporal punishment.  These children ranked “similar [to] or even slightly better” than children who had never received corporal punishment in areas such as “aggression, substance abuse, adult convictions and school achievement” (New Zealand Press Association).  Being one of the first studies to differentiate between different methods of corporal punishment, this study proves the benefits of spanking in contrast to hitting, beating, or abusing children.  Not only can a misuse of spanking harm children, an overuse of spanking can also be harmful.  Paul Preston, who has an advanced degree in psychology, says that children can “become immune” to spanking “if spanking is used for every misbehavior” (Preston).  To achieve the most effect, parents should only spank their children for dangerous behavior or when other methods have failed, in other words in moderation.

Spanking can be an effective method of discipline when used properly.  Moderation and correct application of force can determine the effectiveness of the punishment and whether or not a child will have problems related to spanking later in life.

I agree that in certain situations children should be spanked as a form of discipline.  Spanking teaches children valuable lessons such as that actions have consequences and that authority, parental or otherwise, should be respected.  These are lessons that children need to learn in order to become better adults.  Being spanked as a child taught me to obey my parents’ authority and helped develop my conscience.  Some argue that spanking or “hitting” a child is abuse and should never be considered.  While I agree that some parents misuse spanking, when used as form of corrective discipline, not an attempt by angry parents to hurt their child, spanking almost never causes permanent harm to children.

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