Step 1- Read all the comments from the previous assignment.
Step 2- Choose one comment which is thoughtful.
Step 3-
First, paraphrase the comment you are responding to: For example: “Ms.Gorbonosov thinks that…”
Then, write a question about the chosen comment. The question must be: clear, sincere, useful and be the sort of question which leads to more questions. The question you write must complicate the comment’s argument, make the reader of the comment you are questioning think deeper. Stir up some intellectual trouble. Find an example from US history which disproves their theory.
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Mr. Ethan Schulman thinks that a central theme in American history is power. He believes that the history of America is tainted with the greed that comes from the longing for power. It is true that America has made many wrong decisions as a result of the greed and selfishness of our country. For example, the Gulf War. But I would like to point out that America isn’t all about power and greed. Let’s use Haiti for an example. On January 12, 2010, an earthquake hit Haiti, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths and injuries. About one million residents were left homeless, and about thirty thousand buildings were severely damaged. America pledged funds and dispatched rescue and medical teams to the site of the earthquake. The government sent out helicopters, ships, transport planes, and thousands of marines. Schools set up bake sales to raise money for Haiti. The media rallied viewers to donate money for the cause. The whole country came together and pitched in to help support Haiti. Another example would be the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami. On December 26, 2004, a tsunami occurred off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Worldwide humanitarian response, including the United States, donated over seven billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Mr. Ethan Schulman is, do you feel that “power” correlates with greed? By definition, “power” is the capability of accomplishment, or strength. Do you feel that this is a negative? Do you still feel that men have power over women in current times? I heard that in a couple of years, women will be sailing in submarines. Also, we came pretty close to having a women president.
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ReplyDeleteMs. Katie Li said that when something good happens, something bad will always overcome it. I disagree with her statement. A good thing that has happened and that keeps getting better is the election of President Obama. He is still trying to help the United states and there has been no misfortunes. Somtimes the statement may be true though. The United States was happy when president George Bush was elected but he didn't help the country too much. An example of yours was the Revolutionary War. You said that the British still hold a grudge on the colonies from before but now the country even buys British products and some people in the united states may have British friends. Problems still may be occuring but everything is not always followed by something bad.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Ms. Katie Li would be " If something good like world hunger's end occured, would a greater misfortune happen? If so, wouldn't the world be in choas?" The world currently isn't in a good position right now because of global warming and ecoomic problems but slowly this problem is being taken care of. So if we accomplish, will our lives only get more and more difficult?
Ms.Ariel Leong thinks that the central theme for America is progress. I do agree that without progress in the United States, we wouldn't be so advanced as we are today. However, with progress, we invented devastating weapons of war that would wipe out populations in the hundreds and even in the thousands. For example, the invention of the atomic bomb resulted from progress. The atomic bomb killed thousands, like the bombing of Hiroshima, and caused more deaths within the years due from the radiation of the bomb. That same radiation has been passed on from generation to generation still having effects on the people today.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Ms. Leong is "Will progression help us or will it harm us?"
Ms. Erika Lopez stated before that in her opinion, perserverance and team work the the central theme in American History. She states that the United States is well known for the effort they've put in order to help other countries. Erika also stated that perseverance is another important theme in America History because it's true that the United States won't ever give up. They'll always keep trying until they've reached the goals that they have set forth.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Ms. Erika Lopez would be this: "What made the United States never give up?"
Ms. Amanda Varvak stated that her opinion of the central theme of American history was that America was very foolish. She thinks that America made many bad choices and foolish decisions. I don't believe this to be true. America has made some very smart and wise decisions in the past, not all were bad. Even the decisions that many people considered "bad" were done for reasons. For example many people thought that going to Iraq was a bad decision and it may be, but the government is trying to help other countries resolve their problems. In general the U.S. hasn't made that many bad choices.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Amanda is "What bad choices have the U.S made and if there are any do you understand why they were done?"
Amanda stated that she believes that one of the themes of America’s history is foolishness. All events in life can seem foolish to some people but not to others. Every event in America’s history has led the country’s citizens to learn something. Sometimes, bad choices were made, but it helps us learn what not to do in the future. For example, slavery was a horrible event in history, but the Civil War taught us that all people should be treated equally and humans cannot own other humans. There were also many good choices made, that led us to finding new techniques that would help us in the future. For example, the Industrial Revolution created many new goods and machinery. Some modified versions of these devices are still used today. My question to Amanda is, “Are there really any foolish and pointless events in the U.S. history? If so, what are some examples of the events?” All happenings in the past have been positive in their own small way. The ideas that may seem crazy today may become very popular in the future.
ReplyDeleteMs. Amanda Varvak states,"One central theme is foolishness. This can be a central theme because in the past, America has been very foolish and made bad choices." I disagree with this statement. Even when America made choices that were not that benficial at that moment, they helped later on. America did prosper into a nation where everyone has equal rights and there are no more slaves. If mistakes are not made, nothing can develop better than it could have if there was a mistake made and lessons were learned from it. America's central theme is not foolishness either. Nothing was done as a joke made by a three-year old. Many desicions were thought over before they were done. All the accomlishments that were made could not be called foolish. If the central theme of American history is foolishness, we would not be a free nation right now and we would not have all we have today. Everyone makes mistakes, that is human nature, no one is perfect. American history is not only mistakes, it is also victory and successes. For example, during World War II, ships came with people from Europe to the American land. These people were trying to escape from the Nazis to avoid getting killed. When they arrived, the American government forbid them from entering the United States territory. Later, the United States government decided to support refuges in order to give people, worldwide, freedom and rights. These people worked hard and got the rights that they deserved. Ever since the American government learned from their mistake and fixed it, America prospered into a strong, united country. My questions to Ms. Varvak are, "Should the central theme of American history be foolishness and mistakes, or should it be accomplishments, victories, and successes? Should some mistakes that eventually benefited us be considered foolish and the central theme of American history?"
ReplyDeleteMr. Mitchell Eng states that a central theme in American history is opportunity, like jobs, land, and happiness. Although this is true, some people are not able to have the same oppurtunities as some other people. My question for him, is although America is filled with oppurtunity for jobs, land, and happiness, how come some people don't have jobs, or are denied for jobs due to their language skills, or different skills?
ReplyDeleteMr. Yen thinks that the central theme in American history is war. He believes that war is one of the main reasons why America is the country it is today. He implies that the wars that America took part in, in the past, had made our country stronger and smarter. Even though what he implied is true, i disagree with war being a central theme in American history. By saying this, Mr. Yen is stating that one of America's goals was to constantly have and/or make wars. America is one of the countries that does not want war; on the contrary, America usually tries to make peace with other countries. Yes, America has resulted to war to make life better, but this was only when it ran out of other options. Using one of Mr. Yen's examples, the Revolutionary War would be a good illustration of when and why America turns to war. The colonies' last effort to make peace with Britain was a document calling for "happy and permanent reconciliation". King George III refused to read the document and, frustrated that all of their attempts to make peace had failed, only then did the colonies result to the Revolutionary War. This proves that America tries to settle their differences with other countries and if the other country does not want to make peace, only then may war break out.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Mr Yen is "If you believe war is a central theme in American history, why is it often frowned upon and the last resort for America now?
Rina Gershman believes that if a person or group of people controlling the nation has complete power, the nation will fail because the power will eventually be misused. I disagree that there is a guarantee that power will be misused. For example, there were many leaders that had a huge power of influence over their followers. Good examples of such leaders were Theodore Roosevelt, John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Indira Ghandi, Golda Meir and many others. Instead of abusing their power and influencing people in negative ways, they influenced people to be more compassionate and righteous. I believe that strong leadership is necessary to guide the nation in a positive way. In absence of such leadership problems will develop within the nations and throughout the world. Therefore, my question is “How can we ensure that power won’t be misused and that the right people will be chosen to lead us?”
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ReplyDeleteMs.Ilana Urman stated "I believe the central theme in American History is not giving up your beliefs."I personally disagree with this statement.Ms.Urman also stated " If the thirteen colonies gave up and never fought the American Revolution until victory, where would we be now?"This is true,but American is not a perfect nation when it comes to beliefs.Up until 1865, Americans believed it was completely normal to enslave African Americans.Until 1920, Americans believed that it was ridiculous to give women the right to vote.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Ms.Urman is:Where would we be (most of the time)if Americans had not given up their beliefs?Isn't giving up beliefs in American History usually a good thing?
Ms. Ilana Urman said that the central theme of American history is "not giving up on your beliefs." I disagree with this statement because there are numerous times in American history that were turned from problems to resolved ones because the American's gave up their beliefs. For example, the Civil War was started because the North and South had different opinions. Massive blood was shed because of the fighting and thousands of lives were lost. Due to the fact that the South wouldn't give up their beliefs on slavery, their economy took a downfall. A log of firewood cost around $5 and a barrel of flour nearly $200. If they gave up sooner, this might not have happened. Also, African Americans had to wait a very long time to get the same rights at the white people. They were considered as the "bad race" and therefore discriminated against, as well as abused. These are just a couple of the times when abandoning beliefs was necessary.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Ms. Urman is: How would the economy or citizens have turned out if the Americans/government were to stubborn to change their beliefs? Is it really necessary for us to keep our beliefs, even if it causes serious damage to the country?
Ms. Ilana Urman stated the central theme in American history is “not giving up on your beliefs.” I disagree with this statement because there are numerous times in American history when people had problems and those problems were solved because people gave up on their beliefs. Up until 1865, Americans thought that enslaving African Americans was a good thing. This caused the Civil War, and in the end the Confederates surrendered and slavery was abolished. Since the Confederates gave up on their belief that slavery was good, the country benefited from it. Until 1920, people thought that women should not be given the same rights as men are. When people like Susan B Anthony spoke out, people listened and gave up on the belief that women are not equal to men. My question to Ms. Ilana Urman is: if everyone just stuck to the beliefs that they had in the past, would our country have any progress?
ReplyDeleteMr. Frederick Yen said that he believes war is the central theme in American history. He also said that without war, America would not be the same as it is today. This is true, who knows where America would be today without the stepping stones from the past. I disagree, though, with his implication of war as a good thing and nothing out of the ordinary. Yes, America fought many wars in the past, but that does not make America a pugnacious place. In fact, America is attempting to be a pacifist. An example of this effort would be the United Nations, which attempts to resolve issues between countries to prevent wars. Never did America go into war unless the situation called for desperate measures. War would only happen when it was absolutely necessary. The American Revolution broke out when King George kept enforcing unfair laws to the colonies. Angered by such callous treatment, the thirteen colonies needed to show they can stand up for themselves.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Mr. Yen is “Why is war a central theme in American history if America went to war only under desperate circumstances, and when no other option was ethical?”
Ms. Bangiev recently states that the central theme in American history is the people. even though I agree with her theme, she supported it with wrong information and I disagree with how she supported her theme. She believes that the people elect the government officials, as well as the President. When the people elect someone, the outcomes that are caused by this particular person is partially the fault of the people. That is a false statement. The people do not vote or elect the president, they vote for the electors which then vote for the president. That is why the people do not have much of a big say in electing the president. The power does not go to the people but to the president who makes the big decisions such as whether or not they should go to war. Too much power is dictatorship. It wouldn't be a democracy and it wouldn't be ruled by the people at all. It's not the people's fault that the president makes bad mistakes.
ReplyDeleteMy question to you Ms.Bangiev is, "If you think that the people are the ones that make the decisions and pick the people that ruin the country, then what does the government do for the country?"
Mr. Ethan Schulman believes that power is the central theme of America. "America's history was filled with greed and the search for power, even if it meant doing the wrong thing." This statement may be true, yes, just look at all the wars and fights and inequalities, but there's another side to it. Having power of being powerful isn't always a bad thing, it's the only way anybody could do anything! You need power to make decisions, even if it's something small, like how much to feed your dog. I'm not saying everybody should go and fight for more power, but to have a sufficient amount to be able to make decisions. For example, Martin Luther King Jr., he had power. He had the power to turn thousands of people against slavery. How is this a bad thing?
ReplyDeleteSo, my question to Mr. Schulman is; is being powerful really always a bad thing? Can it only bring bad things to the world?
Ms. Dena Samad said that the central theme in American History is the “different countries, cultures, races, religious traditions, etc.” She thinks that all of these motives contribute to the American society. In addition, she states that all people with different backgrounds all come together to make one country, America. I do agree that our nation is filled with individuals with different ethnicities, races, and nationalities. However, I disagree that this is the central theme of American History.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Dena is “If different countries, cultures, races and religions gathering together to form one nation is the central theme of American History, then why do so many cultures segregate themselves from one another by settling in communities and neighborhoods, filled with people of “their own kind”?”
Ms. Amanda Varvak had stated in her response that the central theme for America is foolishness. When thinking of foolishness, most people would think of mistakes, or laughing matters. But in American history, foolishness does not have much to do with any of that. Even if some people in America’s history did make mistakes, they just learned from them or made them into something good today. For example, Christopher Columbus was looking for India, but had made a wrong turn and ended up in what is now the United States of America. If it wasn’t for his mistake we may not have our land today. But it was not foolishness that got Columbus here. Foolishness is not making bad choices. Although some people in history may have made bad choices, I do not think that foolishness is the exact correct word for explaining that. Therefore it does not make much sense for foolishness to be the central theme.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Ms. Varvak is: If foolishness was part of American history, or the central theme of it, what would be some of the bad choices that made the people foolish? Was it the people, or was it the choices they made that had made them foolish?
Ms. Amanda says that a central theme in American history is foolishness. I disagree with this statement. America's decisions have made us one of the most successful countries in the world. Secondly, what are these bad choices that you claim were made. No examples were given in your response.
ReplyDeleteAs for Julia and Ariel. Ariel, we may have helped out during the earthquake and tsunami, but it is all done to maintain a good outlook from the pubic eye and preserve our allies. For example, after the tsunami in Thailand we were dropping food and water there within 8 hours. After Hurricane Katrina hit the poor, black, non-economical communities in New Orleans it took us 3-4 days to "Get there", even though they were within our borders.
Julia, first off, feeding your dog is a highly irrelevant analogy when speaking in the larger scope of America's history. Secondly, all power does is corrupt people. Thirdly, Martin Luther King Jr. became such a hero because he did what he did without power. He was black, oppressed, and all he had was freedom of speech.
Ms. Ariel Leong thinks that the central theme for America is progress. I have two sides to this statement. Without progress, we wouldn't be so advanced in technologies and medicine. But, there is also a bad side to progress. With progress, we create vicious weapons that could wipe millions of us off the face of the earth. For example, bombs that we created and dropped in Japan. Those bombs killed and harmed thousands of people.
ReplyDeleteMy question to Ms. Ariel Leong is "Is it better to progress or deteriorate?"
Mr. Ethan Schulman thinks that the central theme of American History is power. He talks about how certain races have power over other races, and that America's history was full of greed and search for power - even if it meant doing the wrong thing. Even though these statements are true, the want for power isn't always a bad thing. In a way, it motivates people to do better. For example, when you have a job you usually strive to do your best so that you can move up to do bigger and harder tasks that pay more money. When the boss notices how well you're doing, he moves you up to a higher position that give you a higher pay. With more money, you can do many more things that you can't do without money, which most of the time is a good thing. So my question for Ethan this: "Is wanting power always a bad thing?"
ReplyDeleteMrs. Erica Lopez believes that the central theme of American history is teamwork. She says that we have many allies and work well with other countries. That doesn't seem to be the case today. American seems to be fighting several battles. For example, Russia was our ally in WWII but not today. For a while now Russia and the United States were having conflicts. Not only Russia but various other countries like Afghanistan and other countries. We work well with each other but not so much other countries anymore.
ReplyDeleteMs.Amanda Varvak says that foolishness is the central theme of American History. It is true that throughout American History, people have made some mistakes but that doesn't mean it's necessarily true. I agree that America may have made some mistakes in the past, but I also agree that there have been some good events that took place too. For example, the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Abraham Lincoln set slaves free. This way, slaves didn’t have to work for anyone anymore.
ReplyDeleteMy question for Amanda is, “How exactly is foolishness the central theme? As said before, there were also good things that had happened in American History that helped America progress.”
Ms. Ariel Leong thinks that the central theme for America is progress. I agree and disagree with this statement. I agree with this statement because progress has helped us develop new technologies and medicines to help people. And without progression we wouldn't be so advanced. I disagree with this statement because with progression we have came up with weapons that we can destroy the Earth with. For example we have made many nuclear bombs and have dropped some on Japan. This killed thousands of people and radioactive materials have harmed many people.
ReplyDeleteMy question is " Will progress help us or destroy us ?"
Mitchell Eng had said that a central theme for American History is opportunities. Opportunities such as jobs, land, and a happy life all make America a place where you can succeed and accomplish goals. I agree with this statement, but not all people have the same opportunities as others. You do need opportunities, but it’s mainly what you do with those opportunities and how you use them that are what will make you succeed and accomplish. My question to Mitchell is “How is having an opportunity going to make you accomplish? Everyone has opportunities, but not everyone is successful. Why is this?”
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