I also disagreed and said that single-sex classrooms are not necessary. The real world is not composed of same gender businesses and corporations. They will need to work with people of the opposite gender in order to get their jobs done. The interactions between boys and girls in school prepare them for the real world. I think that if schools just had single-sex classrooms the students would have great difficulty associating and communicating with the opposite sex. This will make it extremely hard for them in the real world, when they graduate high school and move on in their life. Being in a classroom with the different genders is good for students.

I agree with you that a good portion of the superbowl commercials were dissapointing. Some commercials were good such as the the Volkswagen commercial. I enjoyed the Volkwagen commercial, with people punching each other at the sight of a Volkswagen. It was relatable and showed a variety of people participating in the game, including an ambulance driver, a woman in labor, and the Amish. At the end, Stevie Wonder punched Tracy Morgan when a VW passed by which made it funny. Although, there were some dissapointing commercials. Some of my least favorite commercials were by Doritos. Like the Dog Gets Revenge and Weight Room, I didn’t find the humor very amusing. It was stupid and was not funny. Also, the Go Daddy commercials were very annoying. When these premiered during the Super Bowl last year, they were very effective at catching viewers’ attention, but this year it was like an old, worn-out joke that you already knew the answer to.

Erin, you make several good points in your response to Barry Schwartz's essay. Schwartz introduces several good points about the effects of college applications and his extreme solutions make the problems more apparent. However, as a collage applicant, I feel that a variety of criteria, including tests and grade point average, can collectively show a good picture of the applicant. There is clearly no black and white method to this, but applicants are worth more of a look than the glance of probability. As you said, All involved in the college admission process have to deal with stress at one level or another. Such pressure can be counterproductive, generating students who look great, but in reality rely on “easy A’s” or test preparation courses.

Rachel, I agree that Betty Makoni stood out the most out of all of the other tremendous people. Betty Makoni fits the definition of a hero perfecttly. She shows courage and is admired for her brave deeds and noble qualities. She has started an organization that has saved over 35,000 girls. She has used her experiences in life to try to save other girls from what she went through. She was raped when she was 14 years old by her uncle. She survived being raped and overcame it and used it as a positive to try to save the lives of other girls.She is trying to stop girls being raped in Africa. By her doing that she can hopefully change the lives of millions of girls. That goes to show that one person can change the world. All you have to do is believe in something and set your mind to it. Never give up, until your dream is accomplished

I definitely agree with you in having a finance class. I am sure that the majority of our classmates feel the same way. Because of the continuous fall in our economy, our generation has been left with a significant amount of misfortunes. Not only would such a course benefit our knowledge in handling our pre-career incomes, it would undeniably teach us skills and concepts that will stay with us until we are on our own and carrying our own weight.The earlier we are conditioned on a single skill, the better we will grasp the concepts later in life. It is a proven psychological fact. Also, not all families have a strong bank account to lean on, especially during this recession. For that reason, the parents of those kinds of families may not know how to teach their children how to successfully manage their newly earned revenue. Therefore, having a finance course will only be beneficial.

I understand where you are coming from when you say that it is not our duty to help other nations. Although, I disagree with this. I feel as though we can help other countries to a certain extent. It is important as a country to keep and help our allies. It is possible for many countries to help one another if they are in a disaster without going into debt or exceeding the limit. The United States saw Haiti suffering and saw what the horrible disaster had done to this piece of land. With seeing this, our country know it was our duty to lend a helping hand whether it include helping clean up the disaster or giving the country money. I am unaware of what America did exactly to help Haiti but I know that the Red Cross was sent over. With the Red Cross sent over, Haiti many people were rescued and given care. Many lives were saved. By sending the Red Cross over, the country would not loose a lot of money or go in debt as you said. Therefore, it all depends on what the country does. Even the littlest effort to restore another nation can make a big difference.

I definitely agree with everything you say on your response to Doyle's article. You did a great job of analyzing the article and connecting the points made to your life. I agree with the fact that stress is so common today. As you said, when we imagine our future, we immediately freak out. It is human nature to do this with what our world has come to. When we do get older, life seems to be extremely stressful with having to work a long day and then tend to children. We will not have a break but it is all apart of life. It will be our own choice to have children or to work such long hours. I also agree with you when you say children are given too much homework. Doyle concludes that because of this, children do not have enough time to themselves. This is becoming a problem because homework is taking up their lives. It is even interfering with their social life which can cause problems. It is also true that more kids will develop mental illnesses and depression. We see this occuring but nothing has been to put a stop to this. All of this is occuring in society today because of the violence and horrible things that are happening throughout the world. As we grow older it is important that we make changes in the world to avoid all of the problems and the stress that continues to happen world wide.

I agree that the Apple Ipad is a great invention. Apple has invented several useful tools that appeal to all. The Ipad is extremely convenient and useful as you said. It can be for business and for pleasure and has several applications. I also agree that it allows students to have a better ability to learn. With the Ipad, students can use the internet as a resource and can also type notes. If a student does not understand something that a teacher is saying during a lecture, he or she can use their Ipad to further read about the topic being discussed. Another great thing about the Ipad is that they are extremely light, making it much easier to carry around. The Ipad can be used anywhere. This new invention has become extremely popular due to all of its features and capabilities.

This story of your "Kiki" definitely made me laugh! Many children have blankets that they cannot live without but I did not. I remember my sister having a blanket that she had to sleep with every night. I must say that the way you lost "Kiki" was probably the worst way possible! You were just letting your blanket have some fresh air and all of a sudden the wind pulled and there was no more "Kiki"! :( I hope that you were okay afterwards. I'm sure Mona went and bought you a new blanket to sleep with at night! I hope that you can now sleep without a blanket! I still know people our age that have to sleep with their blankets from when they were a child. Their blanket is now old and has rips every where. By now, I'd throw it in the trash!

Natasha, I definitely agree with what you say in this blog. Athletes do need to be academically capable and should be able to handle both academics and sports if they wish to play a sport. I like how you compared this to an employee at a job. It is true that if you are working and have a lot going on with family, your employeer is not going to just pay you for doing absolutely nothing. Like you said, this is rediculous and illogical. No one should recieve an advantage just because they choose to participate in other activites. It is their own choice as to whether they will play sports or join the drama club. With this choice factors in academics and a social life. It is extremely important that the student looks at their future and their academic career instead of focusing on being the star athlete. If a student can be a star athlete and do well in school, then everything will work out perfect. Other then that, athletes should not recieve an advantage with school just because they are more occupied with sports.

I agree with what you say Melissa. It is hard for us to pay attention and find learning interesting and fun if the teachers do not keep our interest. Instead of reading off slides and giving us busy work, teachers should conduct activities that are fun as a way of learning. I also agree that teachers should teach us life facts. It doesn't hurt to throw in a life fact that relates to the topic being discussed in class. Instead, it makes the class fun and interesting. It is important that teachers also care about their students. If teachers do not care about their students, the students tend to care less about that class and do not try. I know that when a teacher sees me struggling and takes the time to confront me about it because they are worried, it only helps me as an individual. When a teacher cares about their students, the students try harder and are dedicated to learning. As you said, it is important that teachers keep their students interested, but it is also important that teachers care about their students.

Melissa, I definitely agree that Pink can be seen as a great role model. I never realized that out of all the celebrities, she's rarely in the news. Unlike many other celebrities, she does as she pleases and does not let the media interfere. In the beginning when you say that most celebrities are displayed in the media for the bad things they do, I disagree. The media is full of breaking news like this about celebrities but it is not made up of this. For example, on the show Extra and Access Hollywood, celebrities are shown on the beach, at the mall, or even walking down a street. The media is a place where celebrities are tracked down. All bad things are not displayed but it is true to say that some bad things are displayed. Pink is one of the few celebrities that has shunned her life from the media. Because she has does this, does not mean that she has done no wrong. The fact that her life is confidential and is not displayed like other celebrities is her choice. She does not want the media to get involved in her life and I don't blame her one bit! Overall, I would have never though to pick Pink as a role model. After reading your explanation as to why she is a good role model, I think that she is a great person to look up to.

I agree with what you say in this post David. You make a valid point in saying that Facebook is beneficial depending on how you use it. I feel that more people turn to this social networking site to communicate with friends and family. Unfortunately, people abuse this site by bullying other people either through a wall post, a status, or even a picture comment. Many people do not realize that when you apply for a job, they look at their potential workers Facebook to see their picture and their posts. It is important that inappropiate pictures and statuses are not posted. Even though someones Facebook is set to private, there is always a way to get around the privacy settings. Therefore, the key with Facebook is to keep what you say and do to a minimum to avoid drama and trouble.