Should home-schooled students be allowed to join in public high school activities and sports?

                          
An editorial by The Washington Post raises a valid question for the state of Virginia: should home-schooled students be allowed to partake in activities and sports of public high schools? The requirement for students at public high schools to be eligible to play a varsity sport is to be passing five core classes in their process of receiving a diploma. Meanwhile, if this Tebow Bill passes would only need a report from parents saying that their child has satisfactory progress in one to two subjects. I don't think that seems fair. Parents have their reasons for home-schooling their children and I respect that, but with that decision, the child is choosing to withdraw from the access to school community activities. If they want to play a sport, find a club/AAU team to play on. If they want to join a club like an art or music group, then find one in the community. At first, before reading this editorial, I had an antithesis of an opinion, but the article changed my point of view. Why should students only having to take one to two classes be allowed to play with students who have to juggle five courses?

The editorial "An unfair playing field for the home-schooled" utilizes logos, and a defined opinion. The logos is used when the author explains the political figures and controversy surrounding the Tebow Bill, along with an explanation of the bill itself for the audiences who don't know about it. the defined opinion of the authors can be found with their "no offense intended" lines to parents who choose to home-school their children, and quoting opposition against the bill. The author writes, "But this bill -- no matter the allure of Tim Tebow -- is not the answer. Being on a team or in a debate club or working on the yearbook is part of being a member of a school community," (1). After reading the editorial, I couldn't agree more.

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Source: "Editorial: An unfair playing field for the home-schooled." The Washington Post 17 Feb. 2012, sec. Opinion : n. pag. The Washington Post. Web. 19 Feb. 2012.

Do-It-Yourself Deportation

One of the many controversial questions in the United States today is pertaining to the children of illegal immigrants. Should they be allowed to stay? Or should we deport them back to their home countries? Everyone has their own opinions, but this is mine: these children help make the United States the melting pot it is. Without them, our country wouldn't be this amazing mixture of cultures, languages, customs, and people. The diversity we have makes us such an amazing place. Honestly, this article made me cry for Antonio Alarcon, the author. His parents were not only not making enough money in the United States, but another son left in Mexico without any guardians to care for him, has made them return to Mexico and leave Antonio alone with his uncles in New York City. One line that really spoke to me was when Antonio says, "Now that they are in Mexico, I wonder who will be at my graduation, my volleyball games, or my birthday? With whom will I share my joy or my sad moments?" (Alarcon 1). His words made me realize that having your parents there for you, no matter what, isn't a guarantee. Those of us who do have them, think about how much you count on your parents for whatever reasons you have. Maybe it's a sports game, a celebration, taking pictures at a dance, or simply confiding in them about a bad day. They do so much, and the pain without them would be overwhelming.

The rhetorical techniques Antonio Alarcon utilizes in this pathos based article are very convincing and appealing to the audience. First, however, the interesting thing about this article was that it was originally submitted in Spanish and was translated into English for publication. This article is heavy on the pathos appeal because Alarcon really draws his audience in emotionally with his story and what deportation has done to his family and how it affects him. Another technique Alarcon uses is his citations of political figures and news involving deportation, like Mitt Romney's suggestion for "self-deportation", and the Dream Act. This technique establishes reliability with the audience, that immigrants do have an understanding and care about the politics in our country. Finally, Alarcon asks his audience a lot of rhetorical questions, including the ones previously cited and this one: "Does Mr. Romney really think that this should be America's solution for immigration reform?" (Alarcon 1). These questions really question the audience's previous opinions and how Antonio's story has affected them. Honestly, Antonio Alarcon's "Do-It-Yourself Deportation" article was one of the best articles I have read, full of truth and a new perspective on immigration.

Source: Alarcon, Antonio . "Do-It-Yourself Deportation." The New York Times 1 Feb. 2012, sec. Opinion: n. pag. The New York Times. Web. 5 Feb. 2012.

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Teen Drug and HIV Screening at Doctor's Appointments

A trip to the doctor's office can always be so fun for some people...Screaming kids, little babies, shots, colds, flu, pneumonia, and swine flu are your everyday encounters at a pediatrician's office. But, it gets even better (not really). Now, the American Academy of Pediatrics is suggesting that doctors ask teenagers sixteen and older for HIV tests and questions about drug use. How much more awkward can a trip to the doctor's office get? Any community with over 0.1 percent HIV is being asked to test teens for the virus. This suggestion of these tests being performed at routine check-ups is not an original idea, but the support for it is inevitable. Drugs can affect the developing brains of teenagers, permanently damage them, and cause teens to acquire tolerances and addictions. So is this new approach that Mary Elizabeth Williams reports on a good idea? I personally think it is, especially for parents who are unable or unwilling to confront their kids on the issue. Having a doctor face the problem is an intermediate for facing these problems not from a parenting view, but a health view.

Mary Elizabeth Williams establishes her creditablitiy to both types of audiences of parents and teenagers in the Salon.com article "Should teens be screened for drug use?". She writes of her parent status and her fears for her own children establishing a pathos with the parent audience. However, she also writes of her past teen years and how these tests are what she calls "massive adolescent eye rolling" (Williams 5). In that sense, Williams is right, but she is also writing about a hard topic to reach teenagers on. The author writes about reports from the American Academy of Pediatrics and their proposals for this new policy along with Dr. Sharon Levy who is an author on a statement from this topic. The policy for asking about drug use and HIV testing at doctors is going to cause annoyance from teens everywhere.

Source: Williams, Mary Elizabeth. "Should teens be screened for drug use?." Salon.com 1 Nov. 2011: n. pag. Salon.com. Web. 3 Nov. 2011.