Service Learning Choices

For a few years now I've been participating in walk-a-thons around the city and never realized that it counts for service learning hours. I absolutely love doing the walk-a-thons because it goes toward a good cause. Over the past 4 years, I've been participating in the Susan G. Komen Race for The Cure on Mother's Day and I plan on doing so this year as well. Arriving early, I normally make a donation and the proceeds go towards a cure for breast cancer and breast cancer research prevention. I hold this walk very close to me because I lost my grandmother to breast cancer, so I always make sure to participate. 

At the ending of the walk (which averages to be about 2 hours or so long) people can go up to a podium to have the names announced of the breast cancer survivors and of those who have lost the battle to breast cancer. I make sure to get my grandmother's name announced every time I go. 

I believe that if more people got up and made a donation, it would make a huge difference. Every penny and dollar counts, and it's for a great cause. If people aren't willing to walk, they really don't have to but it's good to donate. 

Besides the breast cancer walk, there is also an autism walk and an AIDs walk that happens in October that I'm going to try to attend every year.

I do have other ideas as to what I want to do, but I'm pretty positive that I'm going to stick with this.

Annotation for NHD

On the website I was browsing, there wasn't just one article on Aristotle -- there were many. I read through mostly all of them and I now have a pretty good idea on what I'm going to write for my report. Of course, the beginning of the articles talks of Aristotle's past; where he was born, what classes/courses he attended and some of his earliest known works.  The first article talks of his life and what he studied, such as Physics, Metaphysics, Politics and Poetics.

The next article talks of his logic and understandings, such as the books he's written and his teacher, Plato. There is also a form of logic named after him called Aristotelian Logic which consists of categories, interpretations, prior analytics, and different topics.

The biggest article listed talks of Aristotle's scientific method, one of the things he's most famous for of course. His philosophy is geared towards the universe like most philosophers and a lot like his teacher, Plato. His way of thinking and some of his writings are listed here, along with his scientific predictions and his analysis of the planets.

Physics is the next article and it explains the five elements; fire, earth, air, water and aether. It also talks of causality and the four causes which are the material cause, the formal cause, the efficient cause and the final cause which I'll explain more about later on.

The rest of the articles are somewhat sub-articles because they're very short. Most of those explain his classification of animals and species, his views on politics, ethics, the loss of some of his works, legacy and medicine, along with a few more.

These articles were extremely helpful in my research because it's the base of everything. I'm using these articles to build up my report, along with many other websites, however this was the first one I stumbled upon. I guess the intended audience is people who are interested in philosophy and history. This is a secondary source because it's on an online Encyclopedia and it's a biography, rather than an autobiography.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aristotle ** 

Website where I obtained the information

Political Issues -Which candidate best stands on the issue?

Healthcare is one of the most important issues in the Presidential Election. I believe if the country elects Barack Obama, healthcare will be issued to everyone. Currently there are 47 million people lacking health care and Obama has a huge plan to ease this problem. He wants all people 18 and under to have required health care. He also wants to issue Comprehensive Benefits which will cover all essential medical services, including maternity, preventive and mental health care. Financial aid will also be issued to those who did not receive it before, as well as simplified paperwork that makes it easier for the people. Barack Obama claims it will be an easy enrollment process and provide ready access to healthcare coverage. Barack says no person will be turned away because of pre-illnesses or conditions. He wants seventy five percent of the total health care dollars to be spent on patients with one or more chronic conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. 

However, John McCain feels differently. He only wants to lower the prices of healthcare by introducing cheaper drugs and cheaper care for chronic diseases. John McCain's focus is also viewed towards smokers and believes more places should be introduced for smokers to quit, however, I believe that should be the least of his worries and he should be focusing on the 47 million people in America without healthcare.

NHD

So I'm officially doing Aristotle. I'm doing the writing in a form of an essay and I'm going to be working alone. Philosophy has always been something that's interested me and I always wanted to do a report on my favorite philosopher, Aristotle. I'm not sure how many people do philosophers for their National History Day projects, but I'm pretty sure it's not a lot. I could have picked anyone from history, such as MLK, Malcolm X, or Thomas Jefferson but I kinda want to stray away from those people who are used constantly... don't want to bore the judges and feel like a broken record.

Hm, so, this is what I have so far (not very good at all; needs a lot of editing) but in a nutshell...

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History is constantly being altered, no matter where someone is. People in general change everyday and do not realize it. There are many people who don't take the time to wonder why they are put on this earth, or why they are walking in the shoes they are in today. Philosophy is a huge part of history, for it is history in itself; however, philosophy digs a bit deeper and challenges history. Over the thousands of years, many philosophers have been studying the world, wondering of their existence, of what is real and what is not, and studying the human mind along with behavior.

The word philosophy is of the Ancient Greek origin, and it means "love of knowledge and wisdom". Philosophy is something that has always held my interest, however the philosopher that appealed to me most was Aristotle.

Aristotle was born in Stageira, Chalcidice in 384 BC. He was a member of the aristocracy, which is a form of government. Aristocrats often saw themselves as the highest of society and that no other government was above them.

~

It's not much at all, but I love introductions. Everything I write needs to have a creative introduction that draws the readers' attention.

I'll be working on it time and time again and hopefully I'll have it done soon.

National History Day

So, I've got a pretty clear idea of what I'm going to do for National History Day. I've always loved Philosophy, so I'm probably going to end up doing something on Aristotle and Plato. I've already started the paper and it seems to be going pretty well... however I need to find a way to make it at least 1500 words... which I really don't think will be that hard.

I'll have the rough draft of what I have done so far up soon.

Why should our country elect Barack Obama?

Our country should elect Barack Obama not only because he would be the first African American President ever in office, but he would change the United States for the better. I believe that if Barack Obama is put in office, he will not only speak of his plans for the United States, but he will put them in effect.

Healthcare is a big issue in the United States. As of now, there are almost 47 million people without healthcare; 8 million of them just being young children. Most people cannot afford premiums, co-pays and even deductibles and with Barack Obama in office, I believe that all of those issues regarding healthcare will change. He promises to issue healthcare to everyone, irregardless of pre-illnesses or conditions. He also plans to lower the prices of drugs and insurance to help those who already have healthcare who are struggling to keep it.

Barack Obama is also for women's rights. I am completely for women's rights and don't think abortion should be illegal because it's a woman's right with what she wants to do with her body. John McCain's running mate Sarah Palin is against abortion and sex-education in school... but how contradictory! Sarah Palin's daughter has a kid and has another one on the way!

I am also all for Barack Obama's efficent energy plan which should be put in effect if he is elected. He plans to have everyone have hybrid cars by 2015.

Barack Obama seems to know exactly what he wants. I want a president who actually cares about what the people think and will actually go as far as to contacting the citizens of the United States and reaching out to them and their problems. If Barack Obama is put into office, America will not only be a better place, but the American Dream will be revived.