#28 Two Articles

I 110% agree with Lauren. I agree because females should not be sexualized.  The education of women should not be at risk because of what they wear. Men should be taught not to be so easily distracted by a women's shoulder/ armpit/ bra straps.

#27 the Miracle of Andes

I think the lesson of this story is that people need to do what they have to to survive. Also, people need to learn to see situations from others perspectives. Everyone is grossed out by the cannibalism in the story, but if you were in the situation you may do the same thing anyways.

#26 Jose Salvador Alvarenga's Survivor

I think that Jose is not a hero, but only a survivor because he did not save anyone or anything other than himself. I almost perceived him as something less because he went out with a teenager, but he did not return with Jose. Also, Jose would not say what happened to the teenage boy.

#25 Terror on Baffin Island

In this situation I think that yes there is a hero. In my opinion the hero is Eric. I think this because he is the one who thought ahead and slept with a knife beside his pillow "just in case." Also, he is the hero because he is the one who jumped on the bear to stab him.

#24 Most Admirable

In my opinion, Aaron Ralston is a more admirable survivor because he was not "asking for it." Timothy Treadwell went to Alaska knowing that grizzly bears are deadly animals. Aaron Ralston was an experienced climber.

#23 The Five Key Areas

I think the area that will help you live the most sucessful life you can is social skills. This is because even if you have motivation, empathy, or any of the other areas they won't be useful without social skills.

#22 Emotional Intelligence Results

My computer would not let me finish this test, but I predicted that I would get around at 60.

#21 Emotional Intelligence

Now that I know what emotional intelligence is and how it works, I think that it is very important. This is because you could be the smartest man in the world but your talents cant be put to work if you don't know how to socialize with anyone.

#20 Technology and Personal Lives

I think technology is going to have a major impact on society, as it has already began to change the norms of society. It will change the travel industry, taxi services, and daily jobs such as grocers, waiters, hairdressers, etc. I think overall it will be a very negative impact as our society is already very lazy and will only continue to get worse as technology betters itself.

#19 Real Demand, Virtual Solutions

Technology has changed the taxi, travel, lodging, banking, and manufacturing industries, Within the travel industry it has allowed consumers to bypass travel agents, the industry's gatekeepers. I personally do not think that Uber is a good idea as it has too many flaws. For example, if you use Uber and put your location in, you never know who you are about to get in the car with and vice versa, if you are the driver you're safety is never protected.

#18 Canada's Best Jobs 2015

None of these jobs appeal to me because I am not into those kind of things. I want to travel the world and be outside all the time, so being a doctor is not my forte.

#17 The Keystone Pipeline

1. The keystone Pipeline is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned since 2010. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Alberta to refineries in Illinois and Texas, and also to oil tank farms and oil pipeline distribution center in Cushing, Oklahoma.

2. What development of the oil sands means for global warming. Extracting bitumen—a low-grade type of petroleum -- from the region is more akin to mining than conventional oil drilling, and the process of extracting crude or bitumen from oil sands emits roughly 15 percent more greenhouse gas emissions than the production of the average barrel of crude oil used in the United States.

3. I do not think it should be built if there is too many reasons that it will be another factor in global warming. The society today does not do anything to prevent it, so why add another factor causing it?

#16 The World of Work... 3 Questions

1. I think that you need happiness and money to have a good job. In a way you have to have both, you  can't have one or the other. To be happy, you need money. 

2. Realistically, I would like to be travelling the world. Whether it be as a tour guide, or because I need to be many different places for a totally random job, I just want to travel.

3. This seems like a good choice for me because I love to travel. I always want to be going somewhere and I never want to stay in the same place for long. I love going for long drives, even if I don't have a destination.

#15 Serial Wrap Up

I think that Adnan should be released because they never had any legit proof (DNA) that he was the killer, and he has been in jail for a long time now.

#14 The Apple Watch

No I do not see myself buying an apple watch because I do not like how much technology is taking over the generation I am living in. I do not want to fall into the hole that technology is digging.

#13 not guilty one week, guilty the next

I think the way that Sarah is giving new information is manipulative. This is because she only gives negative information about Adnan, and not anyone else. She doesn't give any information about Jay. Sarah makes everything seem like Adnan's fault.

#12 Ten Facts About the Depression

The Depression

-The Great Depression peaked between 1932 and 1933.
-Zippers became widely used because buttons became too expensive.
-Comic strips like Superman, Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy kept children entertained during the Great Depression.
-In the 1920s, the wealthiest one percent owned more than a third of American assets.

The Dust Bowl

-Name given to the Great Plains region devastated by drought in 1930s depression-ridden America.
-The soil lacked the stronger root system of grass as an anchor, so the winds easily picked up the loose topsoil and swirled it into dense dust clouds, called “black blizzards.” 
-By 1940, more than 2.5 million people had fled from the regions affected by the Dust Bowl. Nearly 10 percent moved to California.

The Okies

-a resident or native of Oklahoma.
-the "Okie" migration of the 1930s brought in over a million newly displaced people; many headed to the farm labor jobs advertised in California's Central Valley.

John Steinback

-Steinbeck drifted in and out of school, eventually dropping out for good in 1925, without a degree.

#11 Should Small Group Novel Stay in ENG 4C1

Yes, I think that the novel The Fault in Our Stars should stay in this course as a 4th R novel because it is very specific on a certain illness. Illnesses are becoming more and more common in Canada and people need to know more about them. This book gives the reader a chance to understand what a person with an illness goes through.

#10 The End of the Small Group Novel

The novel The Fault in Our Stars is a good novel. I enjoyed reading it as it was very interesting. It had a major plot twist because at the beginning of the book they make it seem like Hazel dies, when Augustus is the one who really dies.

#9 Your Small Group Novel News Story

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/lung-cancer-now-top-cancer-killer-for-women-in-rich-nations-1.2944804

This news article relates to my novel because it is about lung cancer. The main character, Hazel Grace, is diagnosed with this. It states "Globally, there were about 14 million new cancer cases and 8 million cancer deaths in 2012, the most recent year for which numbers are available." Hazel also talks about how many people are diagnosed with cancer and that it kills many. 

#8 The Small Group Novel: First Half

The most memorable part in the first half of The Fault In Our Stars, is on the first page. It is when Hazel Grace is talking about cancer and dying. She says that cancer booklets always say depression is a side effect of cancer. But, in fact, depression is a side of dying. She also states "Cancer is also a side effect of dying. Almost everything is, really." I chose this moment in the book because it makes you realize that everything in life is leading towards your death. Some people don't look at life that way, but people with depression do. It shows you how they value their life and how much stuff means to them.

#7 Your Small Group Novel

My small group novel, The Fault in Our Stars, is very interesting. The relationship between Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters is getting very intense, as they continue to hangout more often. Cancer is unfortunately becoming more popular within our society, so this book is becoming more relateable. It gives the reader a very clear view of what it is like living with cancer. I am happy with this book so far, as it is becoming more and more climatic.

#6 The Vaccination Question

My thoughts on vaccinations and school attendance is that you should not have the threat of your education being taken away because you do not want to get a shot. Sometimes parents don't agree with the shot, so the student should not have to 'take the heat.' Also, it may be against a religion to do so, which they are not supposed to go against. I think there should be a different kind of punishment for not getting the vaccination, such as a fine. That way the education of the student is not at risk.

#5 Mental Health in Schools

Yes, I think we should talk about mental health in schools because not enough people know enough information about the issue. They only know what is on the surface. Also, children/adolescents need to be educated on how to cope with the situation they are in. They need to be educated on how to help a friend in need and know what to do when it happens. But, they need to educate this at a younger age instead of in grade 11/12. This is because by that time it is way too late and every 1 in 5 students have some sort of mental health issue. They can be taught that mental wellness is not the only important thing that people need to know about, but mental health is an important issue too.

#4 How Big Of A Problem Is This?

I think that this could potentially be a major problem because in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms it states that everybody has fundamental freedoms. This means that people have the freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication. If Smart T.V. continues to 'eavesdrop,' then that will go against these rights. Also, this will start an upbringing within society because the people will not agree with the decisions made by Smart T.V.

#3 10 Facts Learned In The Article

Ten Facts I learned while reading the article are:

1. Ryerson University’s centre for student development and counselling in Toronto saw a 200 per cent increase in demand from students in crisis situations: “homeless, suicidal, really sick,” 

2. Fully a quarter of university-age Canadians will experience a mental health problem, most often stress, anxiety or depression.

3. About 51 per cent reported that, within the past 12 months, they’d “felt things were hopeless.” Over half felt “overwhelming anxiety.” A shocking seven per cent admitted they’d “seriously considered suicide,” and about one per cent had attempted it.

4. 7.5 per cent of students who started university with no history of mental illness developed some symptoms. About five per cent who did have a previous history of mental illness saw symptoms increase while at university.

5.People in their late teens and early twenties are at the highest risk for mental illness; in these years, first episodes of psychiatric disorders like major depression are most likely to appear.

6.  the average grade of incoming students at Queen’s in 2011 was 88.1 per cent, up from 87.4 in 2007. 

7.Of 525 respondents, 20 per cent said they’d used stimulants non-medically at least once in their lifetimes, most commonly to “improve academic performance,” “study more efficiently” and “increase wakefulness.”

8.In July, the unemployment rate for Canadians aged 15 to 29 was nearly 12 per cent; having an undergraduate degree doesn’t make job candidates stand out like it once did. 

9. 15 per cent of students had cut, burned or otherwise injured themselves. This behaviour is most common at the end of the day, when they’re supposed to be winding down into sleep.

10.Over 20 high schools and 12 post-secondary institutions in Ontario joined in the Jack Project’s year-long pilot, involving a series of workshops and presentations.

#2 Why I Picked The Book I Did

I picked the novel, the Fault In Our Stars, because I have heard a lot about it. I have heard many good things, especially that the novel is better than the movie, I want to see if I feel the same way as many others. I really enjoyed watching the movie, and I love emotional novels, which will make me want to continue reading the whole novel.

#1 Goal

A goal I have for this semester is a mark of at least 70%, I hope to over-achieve this goal with close to an 80%. I hope to improve my essay writing, as well as my 'book smarts.'