Legislative:
Child Labor Laws
Price, Erik. "Teenage Labor Laws in PA." EHow. N.p., 9 March 2010. Web. 16 Jan 2011. <http://www.ehow.com/list_6050075_teenage-labor-laws-pennsylvania.html>
The law states that minors can only work a certain number of hours per week and must receive working papers for it to be legally done. There are age requirements and there are requirements on times based on age. I have had jobs in the state of Pennsylvania and I have always had to follow these rules. They made sure that I have not been taken advantage of while at work.
Philadelphia Curfew Law
The Philadelphia curfew law is a law that protects minors by making sure they are inside at a reasonable hour. The curfew law does not make very much sense when you are a seventeen year old high school senior, and still have to be inside at 10:30PM, especially if you have a driver’s license and that does not expire for curfew until 11PM. I am one of those seventeen year old’s with a driver’s license, and I also have a lot of friends over the age of 18 who stay out much later than I do on a Saturday night, because I stay out until 11PM when my Driver’s license expires for curfew and I have to be home by curfew anyway.
Voting Law
http://www.declareyourself.com/voting_faq/state_by_state_info_2.html#P
The voting law states that any American citizen can vote at the age of 18. Many teenagers however, already have opinions about the candidates when they are younger than 18. I have understood the voting system for a while now, because I have learned about it in History class. The government may not believe that 16 year old’s do not have an opinion or enough willpower to vote, but I believe that we do. I am negatively affected by this because I have ideas and thoughts, but no one ever thinks about what the minor’s think unless they are asking the minor’s parents, and even then, the parents may not know the entire story.
Judicial:
Brown V. Board of Education
Landmark Cases. 2002. Street Law, Inc. and the Supreme Court Historical Society. 13 January 2011 <http://www.streetlaw.org//en/Page.Landmark.Brown.background.three.aspx>.
This court case desegregated the public school system forever. It made it possible that all of my classmates and I are in the same class, grade, and school. One family believed that the segregation of schools had violated the fourteenth amendment, so they fought it, and eventually won, making it so that people of all races can be in the same school, at the same grade levels. My high school is very diverse with various races, and without this court case, it’s amazing way of teaching, and learning would not be available to all of us.
Grutter V. Bollinger
http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-241.ZS.html
The court case Grutter V. Bollinger says that colleges can reject your application if you are not diverse enough for their school even if you have all of the credentials. I am a white female trying to get into college. Most of the colleges I am trying to get into are mostly women, and are predominately white. This court case negatively affects me because when applying to colleges I can easily be rejected when and if they have too many women or even just white women, even if I meet and exceed all of their requirements.
Executive:
The Philadelphia Fire Department
United States. Philadelphia: MFR Consultants, INC, 2008. Web. 5 Jan 2011. <http://www.phila.gov/fire/about/index_homepage.html>.
· The Philadelphia Fire Department has been around for 265 years. It is part of the executive branch because it is run by the Philadelphia Government and is a benefit to the city. The Philadelphia Fire department is a huge part of my life because my father works there. It has been a form of income for my family for almost 20 years, and has taught me a lot. It has positively affected my life.
Getting your Driver’s License
Penndot. Obtaining your Driver's License. Philadelphia: , Web. 7 Jan 2011. <http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/teenDriversCenter/obtainingLearnersPermit.shtml>.
· Getting your Driver’s License in Pennsylvania has been both a positive and negative influence on my life, however the positive side has influenced my life more than the negative side. The only negative aspect of getting my driver’s license was failing my test twice before passing it, and although I failed and it was sad I believe that it has helped me by making me study more and making sure I was fit to drive. I use my driver’s license to help my parents out as well as get myself places, I drive my siblings places when my parent’s have work. It has helped me gain responsibility and has helped me grow up a little bit, and in that aspect has positively affected my life.
The PSSA
"Pennsylvania System of School Assessment Test." Math and Reading Help For Kids. Achievement House Charter, 2003-2011. Web. 16 Jan 2011. <http://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org/articles/Pennsylvania_System_of_School_Assessment_Test_(PSSA).htmlhttp://math-and-reading-help-for-kids.org/articles/Pennsylvania_System_of_School_Assessment_Test_(PSSA).html>.
The PSSA testing system is a standardized test that all of the students in the Pennsylvania Public School System are mandated to take. This testing system is supposed to show the students learning. I have taken these tests and I do not feel as though they have shown my learning at all. I think that they have negatively impacted my life because they only show how I have memorized work and not how or what I have learned, and took up a large portion of my time in which I could have been learning something.
No Child Left Behind
Are We Failing our Geniuses? 2007. Time. 17 January 2011. <https://docs.google.com/vie wer?a=v&q=c ache:aZcfkx E04sJ:perthbible.com/Are%2520We%2520Failing%2520Our%2520Geniuses.pdf+are+we +failing+our+geniuses&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgpKwg3srZTjOyhdnPNenoV6VJLj-yX3zIXXw5BrexS1mZ5jOB1N7dorA12sT7TQAP17kowDDjw6xrz5ACrIc0mQZaPSdl0UbMLNkiFbzERfB_Qyx7rb3GWgIWzFMXhJLzOosKV&sig=AHIEtbTw0D9RRllOwWnfS2Vs5c-KqlF8SQ&pli=1>
The No Child Left Behind act is another attempt to make sure students are all equally treated, and have the same learning experiences. Although that is what they try to do, the government tends to focus on minority and struggling children instead of also helping push the nonminority and the other children who do well in school. I try my hardest in school and have always worked toward receiving good grades. The government only pushes the work of the minority and struggling students, but they don’t do anything to help keep the intelligent students and pushing them further into their education.