Book Talk Green Angel

The book that I was reading starts out with a teenage girl, named Green describing her family and herself. She considered her self to be a quiet and dark person, but kind, she said her sister Aurora was a smart, outgoing, happy, pretty, person, her dad was a hard working, and caring man, and her mom was gentle and kind. She never seemed to be happy with her life, and found herself to be very rude to her family, even though she still cared and loved them very much. All she considered herself to be good at is working in the garden and admiring her nice sister. One day she decided to take a walk in the woods that was at a hilltop of her town. When she reached the top she looked at the town down below, and saw it burn away with flames. She was in such a big shock that she did not move, or say anything. All she though about was that the people she was rude to and that loved her wre now gone. This changed her life completely because now 2/3 of the people in town, including her family were gone and she would now have to live alone. After this terrible tragedy she changed her name, looks, and began to hallucinate everyday. She had to live with mental problems for a long time, and also had to find food for herself.

I thought this book was interesting, due to all the details the book had. I like how it would describe the characters feelings, and a good vivid picture could be made by reading this book. I did not like that it was really depressing, I just did not think I can be too comfortable reading these types of books. It was depressing becsue from one day to the other, Green's family dies and she begins to hallucinate.I also thought it was too random, I felt like it was pointless to read it at times. It would talk abotu how she baked bread, then it talked about a boy that would appear near the woods.

Letter to parents

You

Miriam Gonzalez

9/16/10

            7/8 period

Dear Parents,

After all the complaining that I had done about the college research, you will know be relieved because I had finally chose a school. My options came down to three schools, North Central College, Chicago State University and College of Dupage. In order to chose the school I chose I needed to talk with my high school counselor, visit the school personally, talk with previous students from the college and even get my friend’s opinions based on the research I found. The process was complicated because I had to know exactly which school offered the best things for me. I was trying to skip the researching process because I thought it was going to be hard and useless, but I am glad I did not. Researching helped me get the right idea of colleges, and finally helped me narrow my options to the best ones.

After all my research I have concluded that the best school for me is College of Dupage. I chose this school, because the other two had things that I did not really like. For example, North Central just seemed to be too far for me to go to. I would rather stay close to home so I can have the opportunity to visit you two at any time. If I leave to a further place it is going to be more likely that I will not be around all the family. Chicago State University class room sizes were somewhat too big. I dislike this because I tend to get more distracted with more people, and I feel that if they are too big I would not get as much help as I need. I know that if I do not understand something very well I am going to want to ask my teacher, and having less people in my classes will make this happen. College of Dupage just seemed to benefit me in many ways.

To begin with, College of Dupage offers basic classes like math and English, and that is good because I could take these classes first, while I figure out what I actually want to dedicate my studies in. Another thing is that their class room sizes are small, just the way I like them to be so I could get better help with my studies. Besides this school not being far away from home, it is also in a nice calm neighborhood. One thing that is really helpful is that they do offer scholarships, which are definitely going to come in handy.  

Love,

   Miriam Gonzalez

Educate Convicts Essay

Miriam Gonzalez

Educate Convicts

There are rules in life, and if they are broken by someone we tend to expect them to pay the consequences. Paying consequences for breaking a law sounds fair, but many times this is taken to extreme measure. For example, those who commit a crime have to do time in prison, where they get little to no education and get treated very badly. Several friends of mine have gotten locked up and some still remain behind bars because they committed a crime. I feel pity for them, because while they get mistreated they are not receiving an education. I think that nobody is perfect so everyone makes mistakes in life, therefore people should get a second chance. People can change according to Michael Kaiser; he says that 23% of those who received an education and then got released do not return (18-24). This is saying that the more education we provide criminals with, the less they are going to get involved with criminal activity. I also think people can change, just like Mr. Kaiser mentioned, so in my opinion it is not right for people to ignore and make criminals lives hard and useless in prisons. I mean that they should be helped instead of just being put in a cell for a certain amount of time, with no education that can make them change.

To begin with, imagine a person that you know is told that he or she is going to do time in prison. Once they are in, you stay in contact with them and you find out that life in there is very bad. That person says the life in prison is horrible, and that they are not really taught anything good. I experience something like this with one of my friends. When my friend was locked up in a Juvenile Center he stayed in touch and told me all about life behind bars. He said, “It sucks.” and I would not disagree, because he said the same thing as my other friends said when they were locked up. When I heard this from him I thought that if everyone is born equal, everyone should have the same rights. Meaning criminals, such as my friends, should receive a good education when they are locked up. Michael Kaiser also thinks that education is one of people’s rights; therefore even criminals should receive an education (18-24).This means that nothing should ever stop a person from receiving their education in life. The UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) set the standard treatments that prisoners should receive. They say that juveniles should get an education along with adult criminals because everyone should have the right to education. They should get education on how to improve their productivity and social ways with others, so if they get out they do not fail in their education.  Criminals should have "access to education, including literacy programs, basic education, vocational training, creative, religious and cultural activities, physical education and sports, social education, higher education and library facilities"(UNESCO and prison education).

More oever, when we do something we regret in life, no matter how bad it is, we feel like we should fix it, and get a fresh start. If no one in life believed in forgiveness, or giving second chances there would be no way for us to fix our mistakes. Therefore, we would all be living a life full of regrets. I personally can not imagine how I would survive in a world like that; I would rather be around people who can accept the fact that no one is perfect, and that know how to forgive. Since we all know that each of us have made a mistake in life, and none of us are perfect, we should be willing to give second chances to others. When a crime is committed by someone, that person goes to jail and does time. While they are in there they should be helped out, and given motivation to change their lives. Palmetto program is one of many across the USA increasingly turning to education to reduce the rate of recidivism and to give inmates hope for their future. Organizations like these affect prisons in a positive way, like in a California the number of inmates decreased by more than 4,700 after an educational program. ( USA Today 1).There are many other states that have started to get organizations like these set up in their prisons, because they are seeing how much this does help. In order to change a criminal’s mind other people have to help them by educating their minds; this is going to give them a new point of view every day. When convicts are provided with an education they are given a chance to change up their lives.

Furthermore, I believe that when a mind is educated it tends to change up. The person thinks and acts differently than they did before they had a good education. I know that it is hard to change a person’s personality, because if this were easy people would change people to whichever way they desired. Even though I think that changing a person is hard I however, do not think it is impossible. If this was impossible all the organizations like Palmetto and UNESCO would of never have been successful. If education can reduce the number of inmates in prison that means that those criminals that did not return have changed. If they could not be changed, the capacity of inmates in prisons would have never decreased, and if anything they would have increased. Since states have realized that education changes people, some have spend around $1 million dollars on correctional education programs, which have prevented 600 new crimes (Michael Kaiser, 18-24).  I think this is a good idea because it gets the government more involved, and after all like Jan Pauls said, “The government has a moral obligation to make sure inmates are in better condition when they leave than when they came in.” (Libby Quaid, 1). In some states like California, citizens have rallied up to protest against money spending on prisons. The people here say that too much money is spent on prisons, the place that is not to be a priority to help out.  They say this because the more the state spends on the prisons the less the state helps the poor in the communities. Another reason mentioned is that helping prisons is not fair because those who chose a wrong path on their own are being supported, by getting an education (“Classrooms or Prison cells? 1”). My argument against this is that if we educate more people it is more likely that in the future there will be less uneducated people, therefore less poor communities in need. 

In conclusion, I believe that convicts should have an education available to them while in prison. This is going to increase the number of educated people in the United States, making the country better. The sooner and better the people become educated, the easier it is going to be to reduce the number of crimes, according to Pierre Koning (Koning 1). For those who are locked up, I think that change should be given a chance, as in provide convicts with an education so they can straighten up their lives when are released, and hopefully never return. Giving every person the opportunity to get educated is fair, plus I think it is great because this is offering help to others that need it.

ARUM, RICHARD. "Education and Crime." Encyclopedia of Crime and Justice. Ed. Joshua Dressler. 2nd ed. Vol. 2. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2002. 607-613. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 5 Oct. 2010

Kaiser, Michael. "Correctional Education, Because It Works." Corrections Today Vol. 72, No. 4. Aug 2010: 18-20. SIRS Researcher. Web. 07 Oct 2010.

"The United Nations, UNESCO and prison education. " The Unesco Courier  1 Jun 1998: Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.  6 Oct. 2010.

added information      research

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/28/classrooms-or-prison-cells.html

http://ideas.repec.org/p/cpb/discus/114.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-09-24-prisonschools_N.htm

A Quick Introduction Guide

1.       Ask yourself: “Why am I interested in the topic? What initially caused me to research the topic?”

 I chose this topic because I believe in second chances, and helping others. 

2.       Then consider how you relate with the topic (e.g. I own pit bulls: they should not be banned; I have family that immigrated to the United States: open border policy; I always dreamed to be an astronaut and go to the moon: the truth about the first lunar landing).

I have friends that are or have been locked up, and they received a low education and that was if they had any. When they are released they seem to be the same.

3.       Once you simply define your relation to the topic, explain a personal experience that elaborates upon your relation to the topic.  If you are having trouble thinking of something, simply call me over.              

I would like there to be an education offered to everyone, and this includes the people I know.

4.       Lastly, consider the purpose in arguing your topic.  How will you defend your stance?  What will you do to argue your purpose?

I would include organizations that support my argument, as in those who do offer education programs in prisons. I would also make sure I have good, but different information.

Journal ...educate criminals

I believe that convicts should have an education available to them while in prison. This is going to increase the number of educated people in the U.S.

http://www.newsweek.com/2010/06/28/classrooms-or-prison-cells.html

What this article says is that states, especially California, should not spend money on prisons. People say this because the more the state spents on the prisons the less the state helps the poor in the communities. The help that the prisons get is not fair because they chose that wrong path on their own and they still get away with an education.

This is going to be the argument against mine, because thsi article says no money should go to prioson, and if they do not get money this is going to have a negative affect on the educational programs prisons have for the criminals. 

http://ideas.repec.org/p/cpb/discus/114.html

This article says that their studies have also concluded taht the more educated criminals become the greater the change is that they will straighten up their lives. They think that the earlier adults educate the youth, the better students become in making decisions that are right from wrong. All of the youths education should get better at a younger age so they can help prevent the criminal activity, and all the number of inmates prisons have.

This helps me have another back up to all my thouguhts. The way that this article also mentions that educating the youth help reduce the number of criminals, is a really good thing because it makes me think that this is the truth.