Kristina Chiev
Q2 BM American Government
Executive
Pro – Learner’s permit
"Getting Your Learner's Permit." PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/teenDriversCenter/obtainingLearnersPermit.shtml>.
The learner’s permit is a permit given to people at the age of 16 or older that has never obtained a driver’s license, but it trying to obtain one. This permit allows the person to drive a car while another person the age of 21 or older with a state license is in the passenger seat with them. I have passed the learner’s permit test last year before summer 2010, and in doing so, it was has straight forward as could be. Get the booklet with the answers in the book, study, fill out the application, go back with a parent and your birth certificate and social security card, and take the test. Since it was an easy process, the only hard part was the test. After finishing the test, I was able to start learning how to drive in no time and now, I’m driving my family places when they are tired and just let them rest during the car ride.
Pro – FAFSA
"Student Financial Aid." College Answer. SallieMae. Web. 10 Jan. 2011. <http://www.collegeanswer.com/paying/content/pay_aid_fafsa.jsp>.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid, also known as FAFSA, is a form that is filled out by college students and incoming college students in the United States to determine the amount of money they get to help them pay for their education. It must be filled out every year for the student to receive financial aid but also is helpful for scholarships to determine how eligible a student is for their scholarships and if they are really in need of financial aid, something like an electronic version of the IRS Form 1040. I recently filled out the FAFSA form and sent it out to the colleges that I have been accepted to, help me decide which school I should go to because both schools have high tuition. Since filling out the FAFSA and finding out my eligibility for financial aid, I have also been opened up to many scholarship opportunities that will consider me because of the income stated in my FAFSA form and have been able to apply for these scholarships.
Con – Block Party permit
"City of Philadelphia." PHILA.GOV | Welcome to the City of Philadelphia. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.phila.gov/streets/blockparty.html>.
The block party permit is used to have block parties on a person’s block on the date planned when they filed for the permit. Depending on the event, there are certain amounts of signatures needed for the block party permit to be approved. Basically the one filling the permit must ‘obtain 52 signatures, the residents on the block, pay between 10-45 dollars, declare the event, choose the time, and choose the date.’ This has negatively affected me because the majority of the residents who live on my block are close with one another and when they have birthday parties, my family doesn’t know about it until they start the music. Their parties are usually birthday parties and according to Robbie Glynn and Evan Cohen, a birthday block party needs all the neighbor’s signatures to happen but they never asked us. The music is always so loud from 10am to 1am and they always put the stereos in front of our house so we can’t watch TV or even play game without worrying about going deaf. Even sleeping is troubling to attempt to do; the way that they handle to start a block party has dropped the amount of respect I have for my neighbors and the permit application seems too easy.
Con –State ID Application
"Obtaining a Photo Identification Card." PennDOT Driver and Vehicle Services. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/driverLicensePhotoIDCenter/obtainingPhotoID.shtml>.
The state ID application is used to obtain a state identification card that should be carried around wherever you go. It is used for people to determine who you are and if you are really what a paper says. Ex. If you go to the bank and want to cash a check that is directed to your name or if you are really old enough to buy medicine at the local supermarket. I am under the age of 18 so I would need to go with a parent to obtain my state identification card but due to my dad always being at work when I’m home and I’m at school when he’s at home, I never have a chance to obtain my state id. This negatively affects me because when I go the bank, I always go inside to withdraw money. They would ask for my account number and an identification card. Since I don’t have one, I would give them my Drexel school id and they wouldn’t accept that. I would also have to offer them my school district id and my debit card that was connected to the account just to take out $20. Because of the age limit of the state id application, I can’t really take out money from the bank and it has negatively impacted my life.
Legislative
Pro – Compulsory education law
"022 Pa. Code § 11.13. Compulsory School Age." The Pennsylvania Code Online. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.pacode.com/secure/data/022/chapter11/s11.13.html>.
The compulsory education law states that a certain age, a child cannot be in kindergarten at the age of 8 and at least finish high school by the age of 17. This has positively effected my life because if it wasn’t for this law, I wouldn’t be graduating this year. Because of this this, I will be graduating this year and not a not waiting until I turn the right age to graduate. Also the good thing about this law is that I can stay in school without worrying about having to be kicked out of school or be caught by cops and questioned why I am not in school.
Pro – National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984
"The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984." WWW2 Webserver. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/youthissues/1092767630.html>.
‘The National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984 required all states to raise their minimum purchase and public possession of alcohol age to 21.’ This is to help people underage from drinking and hurting their bodies. Studies have shown that drinking alcohol is one of the major factors of liver disease. This act has positively affected my life because even though I knew I was too young to drink alcohol, I’ve always been tempted. Because I knew i was too young according to the state, I resisted that temptation to try any liquor that i can’t drink or shouldn’t even be holding. (Even though I accidentally tasted beer before, and that was the worst thing I have ever tasted. Will never ever drink again. NEVER!)
Con – No Child Left Behind Act
"NEA - Background." NEA - NEA Home. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.nea.org/home/1248.htm>.
The No Child Left Behind Act was used to intensify schools on the yearly testing so they would make AYP. Even students with special needs and English learning students needed to meet AYP or the school was so called “doomed”. In elementary school, I was one of those English learning students in the ESOL program trying to further my knowledge of English. I would be forced out of class when the teacher wasn’t teaching English or Math, and then forced into the library to read, write, and learn English. Because of this act, at that point in my life, I had grown to hate school and was on the verge of dropping out of school because I couldn’t take it anymore. It didn’t allow to me enjoy school the way it was supposed to be enjoyed and was forced to learn and even forced into summer programs and after school math and English classes just so I would meet AYP.
Con – Curfew Law
"Curfew : Safety & Crime Prevention." Middletown Township, PA. Middletown Township, PA. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.middletowntwpbucks.org/departments/police/safety/curfew.aspx>.
This curfew law states that it is unlawful for a minor to stroll around public streets between the times of 12:00am to 6:00. Unless they are running an errand for their parents or guardian, they are not allowed to be outdoors between these times. This has negatively affected my life because there are times when I go to my cousins’ house and stay there until 1 or we would go to the park and play sports until we’re tired. There has been a lot of times when we were heading home and were stopped by cops saying that we shouldn’t even be out. They would follow us home until we went inside the house and times, I would get yelled out by my parents for having a cop following me home. There were also times when I was running an errand around 1am, giving food to my aunt that lived a block away. Even though it says running errands for parents were okay, I was stopped by a cop half way to my aunt house and forced to sleep over because the cop wouldn’t leave until 2am. Because of this, i have a fear of staying out or running errands since I am older now, being caught, I can get into some serious trouble and get my parents into some serious troubles too.
Judicial
Pro – Brown vs. Board of Education
"Brown vs. Board of Education." ORACLE Thinkquest. Education Foundation. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112391/brown_v__board_of_education.htm>.
This court case is part of the Judicial branch and it was about a man who fought for the right of his daughter. He thought it was unfair for her to go to an all African American school instead of an all white school. Money was being spent more at the white school instead of the black school, so he fought and years later he won, letting segregation be banned from schools in the incoming year. This has positively affected my life because I am of a different race than white, and yet I am allowed to go to a school with many different races and cultures. I get to learn about different kinds of people and learn of their experience and adventures. Not only that but I also get equal chance of learning like everyone else does.
Pro – Board of Education of Independent School District #92 of Pottawatomie County v. Earls
"Landmark Supreme Court Cases about Students." United States Courts. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.uscourts.gov/EducationalResources/ConstitutionResources/LegalLandmarks/LandmarkSupremeCourtCasesAboutStudents.aspx>.
This court case is part of the judicial branch and it’s decision was that random drug test doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment and so that now students are required to take drug test in order to participate in extracurricular activities. Even though SLA does not do this, my doctor would require me to take the urination test before she would sign my paper for a extracurricular activity. She says that she just wants me to be safe because doing sports while on drugs could have a negative effect on the body and even might kill me. This has a positive effect on my life because I learned it should be needed in school in order to keep the students safe. Even if the student isn’t involving others, it just means that the student needs help and if no one knew, no one can help him.
Con – Plessy vs. Ferguson
"The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . Plessy v. Ferguson | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Web. 19 Jan. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_plessy.html>.
This court case is part of the judicial branch and it’s about Homer Plessy, a man with a light skin complexion, who sat in the “white” car. Since he was a little darker than a white person, he was charged as a black man and was arrested. The decision of the case what the amendment didn’t say about the 2 races being together as long as they were “equal”. Even though Brown vs. Board came in after to fix this mistakes, there are still schools out there who are like this. One example is the pre-school i went to. We were separated between ages and was treating the same. When I tried to play with the older kids, the “adult” said “why do you want to be with older kids? go be with kids you’re own age, there is no different between you and the older kids, so go back”. It has negatively effected me because people think that since we are treated the same, we should just stay in our groups because there is nothing different.
Con –