Little Brother

Little Brother brings up some issues very relevant to our time. One of the main issues in the book is the question of whether we should sacrifice our freedom for national security purposes. There is line that should not be crossed, but it is sometimes hard to decipher where that line starts. I believe that what has happened in the book is "crossing the line". In no way shape or form should the government ever torture American citizens under pure assumptions. The DHS has no actual proof that Marcus and his friends were terrorists. I think that keeping our country safe is one of the most important thing our government can do. I think that all precautions should be taken, even if it is inconvenient for the American people. This including airport security, going through suspicious packages, etc. BUT, I think that it is inappropriate and harmful to the people's relationship with the government if they are over cautious and start interrogating anyone who walks the wrong way. So basically, I think that there is a very fine line between being over-bearing and doing their job.

I-Search Paper

For my I-Search paper I decided to begin from the TED talk by Ken Robinson about reforming the education system and the way we teach children. Robinson makes some very good points that led me to research the topic further. What I already know is what Robinson talked about in his speech. He believes the the current way we teach children is inhibiting their creativity. We have reduced the number of arts and music classes to add more maths and sciences. Although there is practical information there, the arts inspire people. Creativity is expanded.

The next step in my research process will be to look up modern ideas of how the education reform could happen. Things such as the "No Child Left Behind" Act have made it so all children go to school and get some type of education. I will look through online journals and possibly more speeches about the topic to see what other people say about how children are taught and how they can be better educated.