Poorest President

Jose Mujica sounds like a very generous respectable president. Although by U.S standards his salary isn't much, in Uruguay it is more than plenty for him to live off of. Him donating 90% of it shows that he actually cares for the citizens of his country. It also shows that he isn't selfish. I hope more people strive to be more selfless like him and consider others, not just consider their money. He can help set a good example for his whole country by continuing his charity.

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Free post (Ducklings)

Over Easter break, I got 2 ducklings. At first I went with my aunt and got the first one, a mallard whom I named Bae, but then she seemed lonely. The following night when we went to get more supplies for Bae we saw more ducklings, so I convinced my mom that Bae needed a friend. We got another duckling which I named Boo. Boo is a yellow duckling who will grow up to look like the Aflac duck on commercials.

My ducklings are still young so they have to be kept inside under a heat lamp. They stay in a rubber tub in my room so I can keep an eye on them. I often take them outside to play in the grass and swim in our little kiddie pool. Although I have three dogs they all seem happy to have new little friends to play with.
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Kid Nation episode 3

In this episode of Kid Nation, I saw an example of the imitation stage. This happened when the kids were having a break/celebratory night. They were more than likely imitating the way the see adults on TV and in real life. They were yelling and stayed up all night instead of going to bed at a reasonable time.

In Kid Nation, there was an example a resocialization when the council decided to have a curfew. A curfew of 9:30 forces the kids to go to be earlier. The council thought the a curfew would force the kids to go to bed earlier so they would have more energy to contribute to the town. The hoped this would help the kids be less crabby too.

They displayed play stage when they were rounding up the sheep. The council members were acting as the sheriffs. The kids in the districts were the poesy. The sheriffs were instructing which sheep the other kids should go after because they were the wanted sheep.

The kids looked to the council members as a reference group. The younger kids also looked up to some of the older kids. Although some of the older kids set a bad example, many of the still had a lot to teach the younger kids.

The kids showed an example of game stage when the council members compared their bossy behavior to that of the government. They took being in control as an okay to boss and be rude to the other kids. They could have used a better way to take control than just yelling.

Kid Nation episode 2

On kid nation they showed Ethnocentrism by some of the animal lovers who didn't want to kill the chickens locking themselves in the chicken coop. They thought that killing the chickens seemed barbaric. After the council talked to the kids, they were more okay with the decision. Although they judged the kids who wanted to kill the chickens, they were able to understand the reasoning of killing them and eventually less against it.

The kids who are vegetarian believed killing the chickens went against their morals. Some of he younger kids also didn't understand the need of killing them so they to believed it was against their morals. They think that since they are "defenseless" animals and should be left alone. They also believe that eating meat is wrong too because that means that you have to kill an animal.

The kids all come from different subcultures. This caused some issues when they needed protein from meat. While they required the nutrients some kids believed it was wrong, such as vegetarians, because of their beliefs based on their subculture. The other kids from subcultures, such as farmers, were used to this and knew the importance of it to their town.

 

Free post (Drama)

Drama is a very relevant topic to discuss in middle school. While most parents or teachers advise kids to just ''stay away from drama", it's not that easy most of the time. Drama occurs almost everyday, and it's usually not easy to avoid. Whether it's your friend talking behind your back or even drama about a guy, most of the time you don't even want to be involved in the drama at all. Even though most kids want nothing to do with drama, they still gossip and unintentionally start it. Usually with a few days time drama can be solved and becomes forgotten about, but other times neither person is willing to admit they are wrong and the tension between two will remain for a long time.

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Kid Nation episode 1

       On the Kid Nation episode "I'm Trying to be a Leader Here", they displayed perspective by having individual time for the kids where they talked about how they felt about what was going on. Each individual kid felt differently about what was going on. For example one council member thought things were going well, but another council member who was expecting differently thought that things were going horrible. This helped show how different someone's opinion can be based on their experiences.

They experienced dysfunction when they tried to hold a council meeting but no one would listen to the leaders. Another kid, Michael, had to step in and help take control. They later divided the kids into districts. The districts help the kids have more order in the town. Dysfunction can be a major factor in many things failing.

The kids in Kid Nation displayed power by having four main leaders. These leaders were known as the council leaders. They were in charge of the other kids and were supposed to help keep order. They used their power to help prevent further problems between the districts. Although they sometimes abused their power by not doing as much work as the others, they learned that their power would be better used if they used it to keep order.

Friendly Letter

                                                                                                                               1717 West Main St.

                                                                                                                               Festus, MO 63028

                                                                                                                               April 1, 2014

Dear Mrs. DeBolt,

          My favorite color is tiffany blue. This is my favorite color because it is a perfect mix of mint green and turquoise. Most people do not recognize tiffany blue as its own color and often over generalize it as just another shade of blue or even as a unique shade of teal. Due to the small amount of people who recognize this color, it is very hard to find products that are the specific color. The only product that I have personally found is the Tiffany Blue Nike Free Runs. Although Nike no longer carries this product in store or online, many alternative retailers still sell them online or in stores.

         An interesting thing that has happened to me took place while I was in Florida with my family. Our family and another family that we were friends with that was vacationing in the same area as us decided to rent a pontoon boat and visit a few of the many small islands and coves we had heard about in our previous years of travel to the region. Upon renting the boat from one of the many businesses that offered boat rental, we received a map of a few the islands that are great for visiting. Once we arrived at one of the islands, my sister decided that she wanted to swim over to another island about 10 yards from the one we were on. My sister convinced my mom to swim over with her. While they were swimming my mother noticed something swimming below them. It only took a few seconds for her to register that not only was there more than one thing swimming below, but those things swimming were stingrays. They quickly swam back to where the rest of us were and were completely unharmed.

         I have a very slight experience in technology. My experience level is beginner to intermediate but I follow directions very well. I really hope we work more how to navigate the computer and use certain programs more easily. Although I know the basics, I still sometimes have issues with certain programs and still have difficulty fixing some common problems.

                                                                                                                           Sincerely,
                                                                                                                           Alyssa Kalltenbronn
                                                                                                             



Video Game Violence

I believe that video games are only a small part of the reason kids are more violent. Most video games are violent but many of the kids that play such games know that it is a game and that the way characters in the game may behave are not okay ways to behave in real life. I believe that the many wars and violent scenes that are taking place in real life are more responsible for making kids violent than video games. In addition to most kids knowing that the activities in video games are wrong, parents can limit the amount of violence their child is subject to in the games he or she plays. Parents can't always control the news reports or graphic images their kids see on television, but they can limit the vide games.



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