Marking Period 4: Columnist- Education

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/opinion/kristof-the-value-of-teachers.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Nicholas Kristof summarizes the importance of good teachers. He brings up a study that discovered that having a poor teacher is the same as missing 40 percent of the school year! Also, having good teachers can increase your chance of going to college, getting a good job, and receiving a higher salary. Because of these positive effects, Kristof believes that education should be a major source political discussion/reform. To his disappointment, hiring better teachers is not the first priority of our government. Maybe this is because of the American fear of socialism, or due to the fact that the state and federal governments lack the funds for this reform. Budget cuts were mostly enacted in schools where the government cut fine arts programs and fired teachers. This should not be happening. Because of the large impact a teacher has on the student, America should be improving the quality of its teachers, not reducing their numbers.

Marking Period 4: Columnist- Environment

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/26/opinion/krugman-springtime-for-toxics.html

This week, Paul Krugman, a columnist for the New York Times, writes about the EPA standard on mercury and air toxins for power plants. In his own opinion, this is a wonderful action by the EPA. Mercury from power plants gets in the water supply and fish that we use, endangering unborn and young children. But, he explains, from a Republican point of view these regulations are not good news. He compares current Republican attitudes to previous years. In 2008, it was "possible to be both a Republican in good standing and a serious environmentalist" exemplified in John McCain's statements on global warming.

Marking Period 3: Synthesis

David Ignatius focuses his writing on world issues that have effects in many countries. Because he has a wide range of topics and looks into the actions of many countries, his outlook on society is a little more optimistic. He sees countries that cycle in and out of power and believes that success doesn't last forever, a point brought up in his discussions about the dictators of the Middle East. He is optimistic in the sense that he believes in the ability of humans to correct their mistakes (as he outlines in Article 3). He has seen political and economic disasters that were corrected because of people's ability to adapt to difficult situations. Therefore, his advice to society would be to listen to the elders, the people who have experienced the same crises that we are experiencing today (spoken about in Article 1). Overall, Ignatius does not believe that society is doomed, but he thinks that our situation can only be changed by action, especially by the people.