Comparison Essay

When reading the article “China’s Cram Schools” I noticed a comparison between the Chinese test Gaokao and tests like the standardized tests and the SAT. Both tests put extreme amounts of pressure on the students and teachers, but there may be a few differences between the two.

            The Chinese test called the Gaokao ultimately determines a student’s future. The score that a student gets on the exam defines what University they will get into, or no University at all. This puts an enormous amount of pressure on the student to do well, if they fail, they in turn may be running their future. In addition this test also puts pressure on the teachers as well. The teacher’s salary and bonuses depend of the average grades of the student’s exams. If most of the students do well, the teacher gets a better bonus and vise versa. A situation similar to this is also happening in schools in New York. The SAT and standardized tests put pressure on students and teachers to do well. A students test score is looked at to decide if the student is good enough for the school they are applying to. And teachers are being graded on how well their student scores on the test. This could potentially harm teachers if their students don’t do well. Both countries have tests that cause stress and have great importance on each individual’s lives.

            While the tests are similar, they do have some significant differences. In China the test really determines your future career and way of life, while in America you can still have a relatively good future even if the scores aren’t perfect. This may be because in China there may not be as many opportunities to have a better future but the test may be the one way to gain a good education from a more rural place in China. In America you don’t even have to have one to college to have a successful career.

            Overall, there are similarities and differences between the tests but they both cause pressure and have a large impact on student and teacher’s lives. They create windows of opportunities and also close them, which causes much debate over whether they are really needed in schools.     

Scarlet Letter Essay

Juliette Daignault 802

            The book the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne portrays the story of a woman named Hester Prynne who commits adultery. The society punishes Hester severely by making her wear a scarlet letter “A” for adultery on her chest. When she wears the A, people are constantly shunning her and looking down upon her. While Hester, choses another way to look at the situation. Instead of believing she has committed a great sin, she chooses to add a new meaning to the scarlet A.

            All through out the book everyone in the small Puritan village disapprove of Hester and the scarlet letter she wears. They give her dirty looks and make it clear that the crime she has committed is unacceptable.  In chapter two, the women in the market place are being especially hateful toward Hester “If the hussy stood up for judgment before us five, that are now here in a knot together, would she come off with such a sentence as the worshipful magistrates have awarded? Marry, I trow not!” The women and people in general in the society, are making assumptions about Hester. They want Hester to feel shame and they may not even think that the punishment is that harsh. The author really tries to show how much the scarlet letter symbolizes when the sunshine is shunning Hester in the forest. “’Mother,’ said little Pearl, ‘the sunshine does not love you. It runs away and hides itself, because it is afraid of something on your bosom…It will not flee from me, for I wear nothing on my bosom yet!’” Throughout the book it is made clear that many people criticize and look down on Hester, but the sunshine can represent the society as a whole and maybe her sin as well. The sunshine is afraid of what is on her chest and maybe the villagers are afraid of what Hester has done too. This can possibly explain why the town is so harsh and cruel towards her.

            Even though the town may view the letter as a terrible sin, Hester begins to view the letter in a different way. She wants the people in the town to see the letter as the good things she has done and what she wants the letter to mean. She doesn’t want the town telling her what the A stands for, but she herself wants to decide. “But Hester Prynne, with a mind of native courage and activity… The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread” There is a change in Hester; she does things to benefit the community. She wants peoples vies of the scarlet letter to become something other then adultery. The people of the town begin to see the A as Able instead of Adultery. Hester goes into new places that people in Puritan villages had never seen before, she changes a punishment into something people admire and respect.

            To conclude, the different views of the scarlet letter help to develop the story and provide and understanding to what it was like in a Puritan village. The character Hester shows many that something that can be seen one way can become something different and more positive with work. The devotion and good deeds Hester does proves a point and illustrates courage and perseverance.

Banned Book Argument Essay

Juliette Daignault 802

Dear Ms. Berner,

Schools have been banning books throughout the country. So far, 11 thousand books have been banned in schools, and libraries. These books have been banned because of inappropriate content, language,or violence. I believe this is wrong, because kids should be able to learn about to learn about or relate to situations in some of these books. Books are a good way to feel emotions or relate to and banning them won’t solve anything.

When you read a book, sometimes you just want to relate to someone and know you’re not alone in the world. Taking away books that could provide this comfort or security is injuste. When kids read, it could help them with a problem or situation they need to overcome. for example as it says in “Yes, teen Fiction can be dark- but it Shows teenagers They Aren’t Alone” by Maureen Johnson “If subjects like these are in yA books, it’s to show that they are real, they have happened to others, and they can be survived. For teenagers, there is sometimes no message more critical than: you are not alone.” Books can show kids the problems that they are facing are, and have been problems for many other people. Kids can use reading challenging books as an outlet for their feelings. They need these books to help them and if they are taken away that outlet is gone. In addition, the article “Why the Best Kids Books are Written in Blood” by Sherman Alexie, states that  “And there are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged.” Here Sherman Alexie states that one of the best ways to cope with situations is to read and know that you’re going through this by yourself.

YA books can also inform kids who are unaware of these subjects like, cutting, drugs, alcohol use, rape, etc. and teach them how to prevent or help someone in these situations. For example from the Gaurdian.com it descirbes “Thses stories could be so beneficial to students, while at the same time potentially opening them up to a braoder reading base and helping them discover something in themselves that they didn’t know about before.” Reading banned books can help teens get somewhat of an experience of what these tough situations can be like. If you ban these books you are sheltering kids from experiences that they should know about. In addition, the article “Banned Books Week 2010: Anti-Censorship Manifesto” by Ellen Hopkins, says, “They do explore tough subject matter -- addiction, abuse, thoughts of suicide, teen prostitution. But they bring young adult readers a middle-aged author's broader perspective. They show outcomes to choices, offer understanding. And each is infused with hope.” This can open kids up to experiences and it is also beneficial to have an adults point of view in situations like these.

While some argue that YA books can benefit teens, others disagree that they are harmful to teens. For example in the article “Darkness Too Visible” by Meghan Cox Gurdon, it states that, “If books show us the world, teen fiction can be like a hall of fun-house mirrors, constantly reflecting back hideously distorted portrayals of what life is” It is clear that teen fiction has become dark and violent. Many parents want to shelter their children from these types of books, however this will do no good for any teens. For example in the article “Banned Books Week 2010: Anti-Censorship Manifesto” by Ellen Hopkins, it describes, “She saw herself in those pages, and suddenly knew she didn't want to be there. That book turned her around. Today she's been sober two years, is graduating high school and has embarked on a modeling career.” Reading these books can show kids the way to change themselves and make improvements in their life. They can have a positive influence and overall change someones life for the better.

Banning books is something that many schools, libraries, and public bookstores are doing. This will have a negative effect on teens lives and will take away important sources of information from them and outlets for their feelings. Overall, these books serve a purpose in teens reading lives and shouldn’t be taken away.  

Bibliography

Johnson, Maureen. "Yes, Teen Fiction Can Be Dark - but It Shows Teenagers They Aren't Alone." The Guardian. N.p., 8 June 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.

Alexie, Sherman. "Why the Best Kids Books Are Written in Blood." Wall Street Journal. N.p., 9 June 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.   

Hopkins, Ellen. "Banned Books Week 2010: An Anti-Censorship Manifesto."The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Sept. 2010. Web. 25 Nov. 2014.  

Gurdon, Meghan Cox. "Darkness Too Visible." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 4 June 2011. Web. 25 Nov. 2014