Immigration Debate

In history class I debated a peer of mine on the topic of immigration. I was given the side that argued that illegal immigrants should not be given full time residence in the US. I argued that if illegal immigrants were given this right of permanent residence, this will open the floodgates for more and more people to come to our nation illegally, that we will be rewarding those who break the law, and we will be making it easier to allow people who are not contributing to society to live in out nation.
According to two peers I lost (32-34 and 36-35). According to David I tied 36-36.
I could have asked better questions and been more confident in my use of facts.

The essay was hard to right because it took a lot of research to come up with good facts that back to back up my thesis. If I had to choose I would say that everyone who is already here should be able to have permanent residence. However, in order to prevent the floodgate to open we have to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tkIdCHtPrs

Elonis Debate

In history class, I debated one of my peers over the case of Anthony Elonis whose case is currently being heard in the Supreme Court. This case is over whether or not Anthony should have served the three years in jail that he was sentenced to after posting death threats towards his wife who had just walked out on him on Facebook. This case of cyber bullying vs. free speech is an unprecedented hearing on the part of the supreme court in the sense that they have never heard a matter of this intent.
The more I researched this topic, I realized how scary words can be and how they can affect others. If I had to decide right now, I would say that he was guilty and should have gone to jail.

My side was to argue that his jail time was not lawfully given. I argued that his intent is not known, that his comments were used as a coping mechanism, and I argued that this infringed on his free speech and that if the supreme court sees him as guilty then what does this mean for future people? Where will we draw the line between safe and threatening?

The way that I could have seen a more successful outcome was if I asked better questions.

According to one peer I lost 35-32 (out of 36). According to another peer I won 36-35. According to my teacher I tied 36-36.

Autobiographical Poem

I was so a small child

Unaware of a larger world

Homeschooled all the way through 6th

Best friends were those related

Jack and I would would work in Gaston

Then take a break head to the stairs

Dismantle couch, make a slide

Crashing down the wooden steps

I would go to my dad’s office,

This happened from fifth grade on

Tutors would meet us there

We would take breaks on the lawn

When there was little lunch to be eaten

And I needed something sweet to eat

Into the sugar box Jack and I would feast

Whole sugar packets

Into our mouths

Spit out the paper

Come for more later

I started school at the Gabel

Life was really quite stable

Colored pants every day

C team bball all the way

I grew 14 on the 24th of October

Eighth grade came along

And with it came its ups and downs

MESH, language, and of course PE

The teachers teaching what they know best

ST. George and all the other 8th grade perks

There is no time for shenanigans says Skrapits

The year is going by in a speedy manor,

28 weeks left to school

And it will all be over too quickly

Immigration Essay

Hank Sanders

David Ellenberg

History 8

Pink

Undocumented citizens should not have permanent residentship in the United States

Every American citizen lives their life under a set of laws that everyone equally abides to. Undocumented citizens should not be able to have permanent residence in the U.S. because they can not fully fulfill the responsibilities of being a citizen. Undocumented citizens do not have the right to permanent residence in America because they are not paying the same amount of taxes as native citizens, they do not have the same amount of background and upbringing as native born Americans, and they have a much lower chance of going far in life and living the American dream.

Undocumented citizens have betrayed the laws and rules that are our very foundation. Undocumented citizens should not have permanent residence because they are not achieving the same benchmark normal citizens are.  Illegal immigrants pay only 28 percent as much in taxes as non-illegal households . “As a result, the estimated net cost per illegal household is $2,736. In 2010, the average unlawful immigrant household received around $24,721 in government benefits and services while paying some $10,334 in taxes. This generated an average annual fiscal deficit (benefits received minus taxes paid) of around $14,387 per household. This cost had to be borne by U.S. taxpayers,” quote of Robert Rector, MA, and Jason Richwine, Ph D (3). Undocumented citizens do not have the same amount of education as most citizens who live in America, and therefore are not as educated. Undocumented citizens are much less likely to go to college. 49% of immigrants drop out of high school as supposed to the 11% of native born Americans (1). In addition, only 10% Latinos fight in the military. This lack of service is unfair because America needs service members. The median household income of unauthorized immigrants is around $36,000, well below the $50,000 median household income for U.S.-born residents (2). This difference in salaries will affect U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) poorly and will weaken the American government.  It is apparent that undocumented immigrants can not accomplish to criteria necessary to have permanent residence in the U.S.

It costs 680 dollars to apply for a citizenship. If one can’t scrape that money together like the 39 million people who have and instead they has to cheat, there is not a right for them to reap the benefits of being a US citizen. Undocumented citizens shouldn’t be able to receive the same benefits as those who immigrate legally uphold a citizenship. Around 25% of illegal immigrants end up in jail. Therefore, 5% of the population of America is doing a quarter of the crime of the whole nation (4). On top of this, if the U.S. is more lenient over the ways they handle immigrants, the floodgates will be opened and increasing numbers of immigrants will seek permanent refuge in the country. This can not be good for the nation. Permanent residence for illegal immigrants must not occur.

There are 11 million undocumented immigrants in America, and approximately 49% of their youth will drop out of high school. There are around 2.5 million undocumented youths living currently in the U.S., and only 5-10 percent of them go to college (5). At face value there is a much lower chance of these people going on to do great things because such a small portion are going to college, even with affirmative action. Out of the 11. million illegal immigrant in the U.S., few will go into a field of work that requires education. In fact, immigrants are 20 percent of low-wage workers but only are 11 percent of America’s population (6). Undocumented immigrants should not be allowed to become American citizens because they do not have the same education.

There are many reasons why undocumented citizens should not be allowed to live in the US permanently. They are not playing the same role financially as their native born counterparts and they do not try play by the rules. Illegal immigrants are not investing in education the way legal citizens do. It is realized that financially illegal immigrants are not coming from the same background as native born citizens. However, this does not mean that people who come to this country illegally should be able to have the same rights as those who play by the rules and fairly.  Illegal immigrants all have the right to become citizens as long as they play by the same rules that everyone else does. Until then, America is just a vacation.

"Closing The Gap | Statistics on Undocumented Students." Closing The Gap | Statistics on Undocumented Students. Golden Door Scholars, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2014. (1)

Passel, Jeffrey S. "A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States." Pew Research Centers Hispanic Trends Project RSS. PewResearch, 4 Apr. 2009. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.(2)

"Are a "Fair Share" of Taxes Being Paid by Immigrants Who Are in the United States Illegally? - Illegal Immigration Solutions - ProCon.org."ProCon.org Headlines. N.p., 29 Oct. 2013. Web. 05 Dec. 2014.(3)

"Illegal Immigration Facts." Illegal Immigration Facts. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Dec. 2014. CILE (4)

Anderson, Lane. "A Chance at College for Dreamers." Deseret News National. Desert National News, 24 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Dec. 2014(5)

Randy Capps, Michael Fix, Jeffrey S. Passel, Jason Ost, Dan Perez-Lopez. A Profile of the Low-Wage Immigrant Workforce (n.d.): n. pag.Urban.org. Web. (6)

Vignette

Hank Sanders

Holly Walsh

Teal

11/17

Vignette

As I took a step onto the chair that stood in between me and the jar of applesauce that sat on the counter, I couldn’t help but remind myself what a great idea it would be to open the jar all by myself. With my mother occupied by my brother-Jack Sanders-who was passing out in our bathroom after slicing his finger open with a Mandolin Vegetable Cutter, the only way I could enjoy my snack was if I took off the lid of the metal jar all by myself. But instead of grabbing a tool whose job was to open jars-say a jar opener-I decided to use my teeth. Faster then my mom could scream “Jack’s fainting,” my two front teeth popped out of my mouth. Along with it came a shriek that practically opened the jar all by itself.

My Mom has always been a solid oak. She is there for me when the going gets tough and is never a negative force when I am in need. She shows no sign of stress when others would reek of struggle. But at that time, at that moment in time, with my brother in pain and now an unknown shriek piercing her ear drums, I saw a weaker and less thoughtful way about my mother.

Leaving my brother’s side, my mom sprinted across the cold ceramic floor with a panicked look on her face yelling “What happened?”

As I tried to explain what I had done, I began to realize the faults in my reasoning.

Because I realized that what I had done was extremely poor judgment on my part, I tried to convince my mom that my teeth had simply fallen out of my head, unassisted.

“Hank. I see the blood on the jar. Don’t hide it.”

As my mother looked into my eyes trying to decipher what had gone through my mind just before I lost a good portion of my mouth, my mind wandered and I replayed the moment in my head. Teeth hitting metal, ivory flying from my face.

When I apologized and told the truth, with blood and saliva pouring out of my mouth, my mother had a couple of words to share.

“Yeah, dumb. Really really dumb. You should’ve seen that from a mile away.”

It took me some time to calm down. The bloody face of mine that had an open gap where teeth used to grow  was wet with tears. But after I calmed myself, I asked my mom to do me a favor.

“What can I do for you honey?” she asked kindly, kneeling down to my height so she could peer into my eye sockets. I could tell that with my brother bandaged up and no longer pale as a ghost, her stress level had gone down.

At the appropriate moment I asked my mommy if I could enjoy some applesauce out of a jar that she opened.

The applesauce was cold as it went down my throat. I took turns eating the yellowish sauce each time with a different style of consumption. At first, I licked the applesauce off the spoon and then swallowed a large amount in one gulp. Then I bit it and chewed the liquidy substance until all the fiber in the apple goop had turned to a watery apple flavored Capri Sun. The drinking was my favorite method of inhaling the healthy snack.
I ate applesauce and cinnamon ‘til the sun went down.

As it became time to go to bed, my mother tucked me in beneath a large bundle on cushiony bird feathers that would each night would have one or two quills that stabbed me in my unconscious body. My Father read me Shakespeare.

Instagram

My Award Winning Essay

Hello Folks

I entered this essay into a writing contest and won a hundred dollars as the first place prize.

Enjoy!

Short Story Contest

A Thankless Job

I come from humble backgrounds. I am a blue collar worker, just like my parents, my parent’s parents, even my parent’s parent’s parent’s parents. Being a dustpan is a thankless life. All of the praise and gratitude goes to my cousin, Broom. Everyone loves Broom. And don’t even get me started about my brother-in-law, Vacuum.

We dustpans lead a tough life. We clean things that clean things. Have you ever seen anyone wash a dustpan? We are called something that human beings want to get rid of. What kind of message is this sending to our culture? Our entire handle is built so we can attach ourselves to the Broom! That advertises the fact that we are the Broom’s henchmen.

With all of this said, there is one thing that wakes me up in the morning ready to pick up dirt and sends me to bed with a smile on my plastic: The dustpan code of conduct:

O dustpan o dustpan,

Clean up the dust

Put it in the trash

Do what you are told,

Never backlash.

Our bodies are dirtied,

But our minds are clear

Clean up Their mess and Rewards will appear.

If you lead a good life

Full of happiness and schmutz

Then you can be sure

To never go cuputz.

O dustpan o dustpan,

Clean up the dust

Never ask twice

This, we all must.

So true (what a beautiful poem from one of our own highly esteemed Walt Dustman.)

🔺🔻🔺🔻

I was once asked by son Dustin Hoffman, who currently works in Hollywood, “Dad, what is one thing lesson you have learned to be true over your many years of being a dustpan?”

Now I haven’t given him an answer. Whenever this question is posed, I always respond with something like: “Son I have learned many things over my years in the disinfectant industry, now go clean our owner’s scrambled eggs that slid off his plate.” Why, you might ask, do I never tell my son the single most important thing that I have learned? Well, wise question asker, its because I’ve never had one. I do the same exact thing every single day. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Wake up, clean, wait, clean, wait, clean, sleep. Wake up, clean, wait, clean, wait, clean sleep. Not much to learn.

Then, I recognized that that is what I learned. Sure I don’t have a glamorous job. Sure no one thanks me for my work (most humans hardly know I exist.) And sure my life is pretty uneventful (lets be honest, most of the cool messes go to things like the sponge or the carpet washer). But then I realized that that is just the way it is. I can’t change myself. Do I wish I was a mop? Yes. But I’m a dustpan, and the only thing I can do is be the best damn dustpan I can possibly be.

Well I got to go. Dust duty calls, and I must answer.

But if this account ever somehow, someway, makes it into a human’s hands, I have two things to tell you:

1. Sometimes in life, the most beautiful things are the ones that you never see
2. Scrambled eggs should always stay on your plate.

Yours,

Dustin Off

P.S. Oh and human, please thank the dog.

History Essay

The Tea Act of 1773 is a perfect example of why many American colonists became upset with British rule. In 1773, the British government passed a law that gave the East India Company the sole right to sell tea to the colonies. One could not purchase tea from any seller other than the EIC (East India Company). This act was passed so that it could “Keep EIC in business.” Before this period, the Colonists were able to “ignore many of the laws made by the {English} parliament. However, by around the mid 1700s (after England won a war against France) “The British began to show more interest in the Colonies. This act in particular was extremely oppressive because it stopped all chance for small businesses (any business besides EIC) to go into the tea industry. The leaders of England were making very large mistakes as they tried to make life harder for the colonists. The colonists were being so oppressed that eventually they decided to ‘stop the madness’ and revolt. The rest is history. And the Tea act was the last straw.

American Flag Project History

Above is the American Flag representation that I did for history class. The flag saids “20%___Food Stamp 60 Million.” Each piece of white paper is meant to represent one million food stamps. There are roughly 60 on the red paper.

I chose this fact because it shows informs us that there 20% of Americans are on food stamps. Food stamps are ‘coupons’ that the government gives out to poor people to help pay for their food. When you are in such poverty that you are struggling to put food on the table, the government subsidise your food costs by giving you these food stamps.

Hunger and poverty are big problems in our country and I wanted to inform the public about how important it is that the government uses taxpayers money (your money) to pay for others’ food.

TriPlan!!

Here Is my Final Trip Plan!!

My Instagram

Hey guys,
I dont know if you have ever heard of something called instagram, but I have one:
hankypankysanders
Follow me, I follow back!

Hank Sanders Hyla Woods Blog Report

Hank Sanders Hyla Woods Write-up!!

Intro:

One of the most important things that a scientist must have before he/she does anything like an experiment or a analysis is the scientific question. The scientific question is what causes the correct set of steps to take place and the follow through of the experiment. So, what was our question? What did we ask ourselves before entering Hyla woods? Our scientific question was:

What makes an ecosystem healthy?, and How can we tell if an ecosystem is healthy?

The following shows the steps that our team took to answer the question above

 

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There were three experiments that our group conducted:

1. pH of the water
2. Turbidity of the water
3. Oxidation of the water.

The pH was around 6.5, the turbidity was 26 inches and the oxidization of the water was 14 parts per million. These facts and figures showed us that this water was extremely suitable for life. The pH portrayed that the water was filled with healthy nutrients and was a healthy mix of H2O and other healthy chemicals. The Turbidity of the water told us that the water was very clear-which is helpful for aquatic life. The oxidization of the water portrayed a healthy amount of oxygen in the water.

The other experiment was more of a long term experiment. Here, we had to collect around 45 ounces of leaves. Then we put these leaves into a mesh bag. Once we labeled the bag and placed it into the water, we took a few pictures of the area so that in a few weeks we will be able to go back and take a look at what grew in the leaves. When we came back to Hyla Woods three weeks later, we saw -- three weeks later -- that although there were very few leaves remaining after a group of sticks created a rip in our bag, there was one bug. It was a mayflie.

Class ORANGE 3 had a great time in Hyla woods. Some of the highlights were (both trips highlights) :

• The comradery of the bus on the way up to the ecosystem
• The collaboration of the experimental findings
• The atmosphere of the ecosystem (i.e. the water, the trees, the smells, etc.)
• AND MUCH, MUCH MORE!!

Despite all the fun that we as a group had, we all experienced some challenges:

• The cold: being at Hyla Woods on the coldest day made the environment a little uncomfortable
• The water: it was super cold-making the water experiments also uncomfortable
• The utensils: our group in particular had troubles getting all of the needed materials for the experiments
• The experiments themselves: the directions were at times hard to follow forcing us to be that much more vigilant

***The process in which we conducted our experiments was also quiet interesting. (both trips -- little difference between the two findings)

For the pH, Isabella and Hank dipped the pH paper into a sample of the stream water. Then we checked the color against a color template. The color was in between 6 and 7. For the turbidity, Alex, Sujala and Nicolas took a long tube and filled it to the brim with the stream water. Then they looked through the tube to see at which height they could see the bottom of the tube-in this case they could see it at the entire 26 inches. For the oxidation of the water, Nicolas and Sujala conducted several chemical experiments on the sample stream water. They concluded that the water was 14 parts per million.

(both trips)

All the experiments led to one simple conclusion that would answer the first question of our two part scientific question: The Hyla Woods Ecosystem is a healthy ecosystem. We concluded this because:

1. The bug that were found was a mayfly. The mayfly is a very sensitive bug. If you find a sensitive bug in a ecosystem, it shows that that ecosystem is perfect for all animals
2. The pH of the creek water was close to that of 100% fresh water
3. The water had a high level of dissolved oxygen
4. The turbidity of the water was low. Animals do not like turbid water

The above facts show why, how, and what we did at Hyla Woods, the two times we visited.

My Civil War Poem

The North calls it the Civil War,

The South call it the War of Northern Aggression.

North versus South, one industrial-one agricultural

The March of Sherman, 1800m²

The firing of Fort Sumter

Both heinous, both famous,

The South started, the North won it,

The most bloody war, so many deaths.

The war is over, we will never forget,

The war changed the future of America, but we will still repent repent.

Civil War, Civil Strife,

We learn from the past, look to the future,

Life goes on, for ever and ever.

That is the tale of the great Civil War.

Narrative, rhyme, sonnet, iambic pentameter