No Summer Vacation?!

I read an article today that said President Obama wants to extend the school day and school year. He says American students are at a disadvantage compared to students around the globe because of the smaller amount of time they spend in school. I can see both positive and negative sides to this issue. Extending the school day would allow for increased learning and give students in poor areas a safe place to be until their parents are home from work. However, I personally think that it is important for kids to have after school activities to go to, instead of just a longer school day. I know that at New Trier we are lucky and have many after school programs from clubs to sports and theater, and a longer school day would make homework and extracurricular participation harder. Furthermore, I think that extending school into summer vacation would not be a good idea, because everyone deserves a break. What do you think? Is it worth it to extend the amount of time we spend in school?

Execution Fails

Romell Broom was convicted of an abduction/murder/rape in 1984. And, on Tuesday september 15, he was suppposed to be executed by lethal injection. However, this was the first time in the United States that an exectution by letah injection had failed, and then been rescheduled. For two hours, a team of technicians tried to find a vein to sucessfully inject the lethal drugs, and according to one of his lawyers, Adele Shanks, “He survived this execution attempt, and they really can’t do it again. It was cruel and unusual punishment.” She also said that he was wincing in pain throughout the procedure. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio said that this is the third screwed up execution in three years, and many are wondering whether or not this is still an acceptable punishment to be used. Isn't the death penalty supposed to be humane? But putting someone through that kind of mental and physical pain twice does not seem constitutional or right to me. I personally think that he deserves a lifetime in jail for the crimes he committed, but definitely does not deserve to be "killed" again. Read Article

Toxic Water... still?

I read a very disturbing article earlier about a town near Charleston, West Virginia: their tap water situation there is so bad that in one family, the harmful metals in the water have given painful scabs and rashes to a kid, and another kid has had his teeth enamel eroded. Besides being harmful to the skin, the water is causing long term problems in the kidneys and nervous system.

The town is not very rural either, it is only 17 miles away from Charleston, the state capital. The article went on to describe that many chemical factories and manufacturing plants polluting the water have escaped fines and punishment, and while a Clean Water Act was passed in 1972, there is low water-pollution law enforcement and the water "does not meet public health goals". This does not seem right or fair. People should not have to suffer because of the unethical behavior of companies, and in an age of advanced technology, we should be able to guarantee clean water for everyone in the united states.

Baby Makes 21

Yesterday, I saw an article about the Duggar family - featured on TLC's "18 and Counting" because of their extremely large family. The article announced that the Duggars would be welcoming their 19th child in the spring. Whoa. Joining 10 boys and 8 girls, plus a new neice on the way, the new baby is going to take it's place among a ton of kids ranging from 21-2 years old.
After a miscarriage due to concievement while on the birth control pill, the Duggars decided that they would refrain from using birthcontrol and contraceptives and let God decide how many children they should have. Naturally, many people have mixed views on this family. As the oldest of four children in my family, I personally feel that being one of 19 would be absolutely crazy, and I wonder how the parents have time to deal with each child and give each child the individual attention they deserve. I think people should have the choice over how many children they want to have, but provided only that they can care for all of them. Should there be a limit on the amount of children a family should have? Is there a certain point in which the well-being of the other children is compromised in a large family?