VOCABULARY: #2

obesity - the condition of being grossly fat or overweight
Child obesity in America is at an all time and something must be done about it.

accumulate - gather together or acquire an increasing number or quantity of
The collector has been accumulating a lot of post cards over the years.

mass - a coherent, typically large body of matter with no definite shape
When my cat got off of my bed there was a mass of hair left over.

disease - a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, esp. one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury
There are many diseases that are only in Africa such as West Nile

diet - the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats
The football player had a terrific diet because he had to stay in shape for next season.

prevalence - the fact of condition of being prevalet; commonness
It is hard to assess dog fighting's prevalence.

stigma - a mark of disgrace associated with a particular circumstance, quality, or person
The stigma of slavery remained long after it had been abolished.

prevent(able) - keep (something) from happening or arising; capable of being prevented
Disease from drinking water can be preventable if you simply use a filter or purifier.

adolescent - in the process of developing from a child into an adult
The child was still adolescent and naive.

cardiovascular - of or relating to the heart and blood vessels
The old mans cardiovascular system was not doing so well with his old age.

excessive - more than is necessary, normal, or desirable; immoderate
The police officer used excessive force on the man and was later fired and arrested for police brutality.

mechanism - a system of parts working together in a machine; a piece of machinery
The mechanism was malfunctioning causing the production line to slow.

sedentary - tending to spend much time seated; somewhat inactive
The mans sedentary lifestyle caused him to have health issues.

predispose -  make someone liable or inclined to a specified attitude, action, or condition
She was predisposed to becoming a drug addict because both of her parents used drugs in front of her while she was growing up.

syndrome - a group of symptoms that consistently occur together or a condition characterized by a set of associated symptoms
Stockholm's syndrome is when the hostages express empathy and sympathy towards their captors.

PROS AND CONS: OBESITY

          The article I found was on the Huffington Post and it goes in to more detail on the "fat letters". It talked about how the letters were sent home to notify the parents that their child is overweight and it also says that they also sent letters telling them that their child is underweight or at a healthy weight. The letters have good intentions but they seem to be causing more problems than they fix.
          There are multiple problems with the body mass index (BMI) screenings. First, the BMI screenings can sometimes be inaccurate because they don't take into account muscle mass which can affect the weight of a the child. For example, a student named Cam Watson was an active member of the wrestling and football teams but was categorized as obese by the screenings. Second, if other students find out that a classmate received a letter, they may bully him. Bullying is already a problem and these letters might make it more of an issue than it already is. Finally, parents laugh at the letters and might even take offense when their child is called obese. Many arguments are the result of the letters and they seem to be doing more harm than good.
          On the other hand, the Department of Public Health has good intentions when doing the screenings and sending home the letters. Obesity in children has doubled in the last thirty years, according to Centers for Disease Control. The letters have hopes of halting this increase in obesity by drawing attention to the issue. The Department of Public Health has fears of having obese adults who are at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and some cancers. Even though the letters have good intentions, they may have crossed the line into what is known as "fat shaming".
          In conclusion, the letters have good intentions but come across as offense and an invasion of personal matters. I think they were a good idea and a nice way to address the growing issue but they caused more problems than they fixed.
OLIVE

Text Analysis #1

In America, there are "fat letters" being sent to the parents of overweight or obese students after the school screens the students height and weight. The American Academy of Pediatrics thinks these letters will help the parents and students understand that they are overweight and maybe do something about it but I think it causes more problems than benefits. Inaccurate measurements may occur and a letter might be sent to someone who doesn't need one thus leading to arguments within the family and with the school. Some may look at the letters as an invasion of personal matters and take offense to it and say that it is none of their business. On the other hand, it might draw attention to the problem and have a successful outcome. It's all a matter of perspective.

THIS IS PHAT!

The article I found entitled the Bitter Truth About Fast Foods, linked here, talks about what is used when making fast food. It lists wood, sand, soil fertilizer, silly putty plastics, beetle juices and more as ingredients used for making the food at popular fast food chains.

vocabulary: fall #1

expository - intended to explain or describe something
composition - the nature of somethings ingredients or constituents
assuage - to make less intense
decadence - moral or cultural decline especially after a peak of achievement 
hackneyed - lacking significance through having been overused
coalition - an alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of politcal parties forming a govermnet or of states
transcend - be or go beyond the range of limits
meritorious - deserving reward or praise
lurid - very vivid in color especially so as to create a very unpleasantly or unnatural effect
petulant - childishly sulky or bad-tempered

REFLECTIONS ON WEEK 1

1.) I'd say the only thing that would affect my participation in class would be tiredness or laziness and lack of interest. Most stuff will probably keep me interested but definitely not everything.

2.) An awesome best ever learning experience that I had that changed my life was actually a youtube video. It was a lecture by a theoretical physicist named Brian Cox about how the universe worked. It was really confusing at first but it really opened my mind up to how the universe worked and how large it actually was. After watching it several times, I started understanding it more and more and it really interested me and made me want to study the universe. It caused me to think about how small and minuscule the earth is and especially how small we are. In a way it made me feel very unimportant as well as the whole human race and made me realize how lucky we got to have the right combination of elements on a planet that is the perfect distant away from a star to sustain life. It also made me wonder why we don't put more money into space programs to venture out there and learn more about stars, blacks holes, supernovas, etc. Another thing it made me wonder is why countries just don't unite to create a space program called EARTH or something like that and group resources together. It really got me thinking.

3.) I am excited about reading pieces of work that I probably would never have read before. I am concerned about the amount of work and not finishing all of it because of work I have in other classes. I think it will make a practical difference in my life by keeping my mind focused on goals and learning new things.

5 GO-TO SOURCES FOR GOOD NONFICTION

1.)  goodreads.com
2.) TIME Magazine
3.) National Geographic
4.) reddit.com/r/science/
5.) reddit.com/r/worldnews/

What is expository composition?

I think expository composition is explaining the structure of composition or pieces of writing.

A TRULY INTERESTING PIECE OF NONFICTION

The Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking

This book really got my attention because it talks about previous theories, such as Aristotle's theory about how the solar system and stars work, to Stephen Hawking's amazing theories about how the universe works today. It all makes sense when he talks about it and it really peaked my interest reading about it. I literally couldn't stop reading and I kept telling my self, "okay only one more page then I'll put it down" then I found myself reading ten more pages just because it was so interesting.

MY BIG QUESTION

What is inside of a black hole?