Carrollton High School
Carrollton, Ohio
Teacher: Carol Wilking
Improving the Quality of Life
by Tracy Clark
12th Grade
“I have a dream…” is the beginning of one of the most historical speeches that was made by Martin Luther King Jr. Just as King had a dream for the entire world, citizens of the U.S. have a dream for their individual communities. The role of improving the quality of life in communities today is totally the responsibility of the members in the community. To improve the quality of life, people need to become better role models and volunteer more.
The first thing people need to remember is that everyone has a role model. A role model is an individual that is looked upon as superior to others by one particular person. Any-body can be a role model to someone. Role models are not always famous people or people with lots of money. A role model can simply be a child’s parents or older siblings. No matter who the role model is that person needs to accept the vast responsibility that comes along with being a role model.
Two of the main types of people that children choose for their role models are either their parents or older, more popular kids. Parents need to always try to set a good example for their kids. It is not enough for the parents to simply say, “Do as I say, not as I do.” This is teaching their children absolutely nothing. Parents should also obey laws no matter how insignificant they may seem. If the sign says, “Do not litter,” then do not throw trash on the ground. One of the main things that parents could do to be exceptional role models for their kids is to get married and then have the kids, not the other way around. Once a couple is married and has kids, the couple should be able to provide a loving home in which they can raise their children. The husband and his spouse should also show respect for one another. This shows their kids that they should respect members of the opposite sex when they start dating.
The second type of people that become role models for many kids are the older, more popular teenagers. These young individuals usually do not comprehend the enormous fixation that the younger generation has on them. When a younger child sees an older, more popular, student smoking, the younger individual thinks that smoking is cool, and he is more likely to try it. The same idea is true when it comes to cheating or having premarital sex. The teenagers need to realize and accept the responsibility that the younger generation has embedded in them to be good role models. If parents and teenagers start becoming exceptional role models, the atmosphere in the schools and in the entire community would change for the better.
Another way that individuals could improve the quality of life in their communities is by volunteering more. In most communities there are a large number of different organizations that need the help of volunteers all of the time. These organizations might ask the volunteers to serve food at soup kitchens, help the environment by picking up litter, or help out at a nursing home or daycare center. Most organizations do not ask the volunteers to do strenuous work or to work long shifts but simply to volunteer a couple hours out of a month to help. If more people volunteered, the more work a community could accomplish and the less time it would require from every person involved.
Not only can adults volunteer, but students can also help out. Students could help to improve their school facilities. Since they have to be at school, they should want it to look respectable and well cared for. Students could also volunteer to tutor other students. If a student is excelling in one particular subject and knows someone in his class who is struggling, the student who is doing well should offer to spend a little bit of time each day helping the student who is not doing so well. Tutoring other students gives both students different perspectives on things. A student is now the teacher, and the other student is being taught by someone closer in age.
Moreover, if a community is looking for a way to improve the quality of life, the community should look to role models and to volunteer programs. Everyone wants life to be better for him or her than it already is. One way of accomplishing this is through improving life in his or her community. If everyone in a community sets his eyes on one particular dream, anything can happen.
Questions to Required
Reading
Q1- The society in the USA does not appear to invest many qualities in marriage. Even though married people are generally happier, healthier and live longer, many individuals choose cohabitation. In some cases it appears that the couple will benefit more by simply living together. Some scenarios that would support this idea would be that the individuals would benefit on their taxes, and the couple would not have to go through a terrible divorce if the relationship did not work out as they had planned.
The society in Manus, however, varies greatly. Manus financiers invest greatly in marriages. Relatives on the groom’s side invest dogs’ teeth and shell money to a partner of the bride’s side who, in turn, repays these amounts with pigs and oil. The Manus society condemns divorce because the Manus people do not like to back a man who has been often divorced. Marriages that are greatly backed by society assume greater prestige.
Q2- 1. 21 years-- Marriage #1 – Both people have to be flexible.
2. 10 months-- Marriage #1 – Marry for the right reasons.
3. 10 years—- Marriage #1 – Make sure you can live with the person.
4. 10 years—- Marriage #1- Make sure you have some similarities and goals.
5. 37 years—- Marriage #1- Both people have to be flexible and communicate.
6. 17 years—- Marriage #1- Make sure you are ready for the commitment.
7. 33 years-- Marriage #1- Make sure you understand what you are saying to each other. Do not accuse the other person.
8. 27 years—- Marriage #1- The woman is the one who has the responsibility of cooking, cleaning, and listening to the husband.
9. 5 years-- Marriage #2- Communicate and be a good listener.
10. 8 years-- Marriage #2- Share common goals with each other.
Q3- According to Richard Eckersley, our collective goal should be to live “a better life.” However, no one has been able to define what “a better life” means. The people of the world have many different interpretations on what it means.
Q4- A goal for my local community would be to provide the youth of the community with more activities to be involved in and more places in the community to have fun. A few examples of this might be to build a movie theater or a skating rink.
Q5- It is really sad to think that a child has to depend on a doll in order to receive the human connection that a child longs for and deserves. However, if a lonely child can find even a little comfort in a doll, then that child should have a room full of dolls.
The gap is widening in the nationality aspect of the world. Minorities are continuing to grow and soon Caucasians will not be so dominant as they are now.
Q6- Being a democracy makes lawyers particularly helpful because they are the link between the individuals and the state. They create for us a form of public responsibility and accountability that would not exist if we were not a democracy.
Lawyers are helpful because the USA is a very diverse nation. We are heterogeneous which brings more conflict and less agreement about social customs. The lawyers step in and help mediate across diversity of custom.
Lawyers are particularly helpful because of our wealth. After the basic needs of food and shelter are satisfied, the USA tries to improve other aspects of living. We need lawyers to help us try to improve the earth and standard of living by passing new laws.
The size of the USA makes lawyers helpful. There are numerous businesses and organizations that have to deal with national issues. In order to handle this task, the companies need lawyers to deal with the multiple transactions among a multitude of individuals.
Q7- I prefer punitive damages to regulations in order to change bad practices. Punitive damages were designed to make the company absorb the real cost of the activity. Even though the company will not suffer a huge loss through a couple of punitive damages cases, it shows the company that it cannot have total control of the economy.
An alternative could be to mix the punitive damages and the regulations. An example could be that the government set a few very general regulations for companies and then have the companies pay the punitive damages if charges are filed. With the few general regulations set, hopefully, it would make the number of punitive damage cases decline.
Q8- One way society would benefit from the coming retirement of baby boomers would be that some of these retiree entrepreneurs would offer services to the larger number of Generation X’ers who will be having families. Another way would be that the Generation X’ers could start nanny services. These services would be owned and operated by young people who would perform duties for the elderly, such as running errands and assisting with household chores. The third way would be that Generation X’ers are distrustful of corporations because of downsizing and they would be able to go into business for themselves providing the growing elderly market with home health care, home shopping, travel and recreation, and real estate services. These businesses would greatly assist the elderly because they would not have to leave their houses if they did not want to or if they were unable to.
Q9- No, President Clinton’s anti-poverty program will not make a real impact. One reason is that companies are not going to be willing to hire people that cannot perform the necessary tasks that the job requires. Many of the unemployed people are unskilled and unwilling to learn the necessary tasks needed for the companies to prosper. A second reason is that investing in poor regions of the country is profitable, but it is also a very risky investment. The government could spend a considerable amount of money and time investing in poor regions, but without the cooperation of the people, especially the poor people, the investment is a failure. The last reason is that the government’s plan is not the best that it could be. Some of the policies have mixed records. They were designed to prevent and help one area, but some of the policies fall short of their expectations.
Q10- Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis have several things in common. They both set up places where kids can go and receive love and support from adults. They both believe in the potential that the kids have. They know that the kids can succeed in the world if they are given the opportunity. Finally Truett and Tom both set up organizations that have helped a large number of kids turn their lives around.