Harriman
High School
Harriman, Tennessee
Teacher: Nancy Newcomb
HEAL HARRIMAN
To make it a better place.
By Kristel Fuller
Grade 10
When you turn on your television and
watch the news, you notice that the government is mostly concentrating on problems in much
larger cities, bigger than your own. Even though large cities have problems that they need
to overcome, small communities also need improving. Mr.
Rogers from “Mr. Rogers’s Neighborhood” used to sing a song that went
“It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood.”
This may have been true fifty years ago, but now we need to find our role of
personal responsibility in improving the quality of life in our communities today.
Harriman is a small town of about
7,000 in the valley of East Tennessee. It is near big cities such as Knoxville and Oak
Ridge where many residents of Harriman work in plants. Harriman is growing and
improvements on the town would help Harriman become a better place to live. There is a
Paper Mill Plant in Harriman. After running
for a few years it shuts down. When this happens people move away to find work in other
factories in larger cities. Then another
company buys it, gives it a new name and reopens it again. I think that there
shouldn’t be a plant at all. It never
stays open very long and when you drive by the plant, you inhale all of the horrible
pollution that it gives out to the air and the beautiful water. I think that there is no point of having a
pollution plant in my community. Our community’s personal responsibility would be to
start a petition to close the plant for good. There are better jobs at the plants in Oak
Ridge and the closing of the plant would make Harriman smell and be a lot cleaner then it
ever has before.
The Harriman City Schools system is
poor compared to others in the state and around the world.
I have relatives who go to high school in Ohio and their curriculum is a whole lot
better than Harriman High School. I know that we may not have the funds that school
systems in larger cities do, but the community should take some responsibility and help
raise money for our schools. We need more computers and technology materials so students
can expand their minds and improve their test scores. Just think of all the opportunities
students at Harriman High will have to improve the community and the world! We also need
to upgrade our curriculum so that reaching this goal can become possible. Education is a
very important key to success. If you have a
good education you can get a good job and have a good life.
This is the way life should be in the community of Harriman and it will be if we
all work together.
Like in most small towns everyone in
Harriman pretty much knows everyone else. People
in Harriman are very mean to each other, especially at Harriman High School. People put down their elders and even their really
good friends. There are many goals and improvements to our town that we need to achieve as
a community, but this won’t be possible if the people in the community don’t get
along with each other. The community should take responsibility in having town meetings
where people can come and realize how important it is to love one another. “Character
Counts,” which is a program at my school, is a good way to recognize people, like me,
who want to make a difference. Our community could show the citizens how to respect people
and to not be so judgmental of others. Peoples’ feelings do get hurt and they usually
get revenge by doing violent acts. There have
been many schools around the world where people have brought guns to school and killed the
kids who were making fun of them. This
happens not only in large cities, but also in small communities like Harriman. I know that
I DON’T want this tragedy to happen in Harriman. That is why my personal goal is to
show my town that people care by saying a simple “hello” and having a smile on
my face. This can really brighten up a person’s day and our community.
Even though large cities have
problems that they need to overcome, small communities also need improving. Now we need to
find our role of personal responsibility in improving the quality of life in our
communities today. If we don’t find a role that will help improve the community then
the quality of life in our community will weaken. We have to make the right choices
because the choices that we make now will affect the people of tomorrow. If we find our
role of personal responsibility in improving the quality of life in our community today
then the future of Harriman will be bright, but if it is not successful I don’t want
to think of the horror our community may have to face.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q1 How does society invest in
marriage in the USA and in Manus?
A1 USA- Cohabitation is on the
increase because the social taboos against it have weakened.
Manus- They center their investment about tried and enduring marriages and
the marriages so substantially endorsed by society assume greater prestige.
Q2 Interview 10 married people. (No
names.) State the length and number of each one’s marriages and a line or two of
advice from each on how to maintain a long, happy relationship.
1 1st marriage-1 year
2nd marriage-7 years
3rd marriage-18 years and going strong
“Share your feelings and trust
one another.”
2 1st marriage-6 years
2nd marriage-18 years and going strong
“Communication, talk to each
other.”
3 Married 19 and a half years
(husband died in 1975)
“Communicate, if you can’t
talk to your spouse the relationship won’t last.”
4 Married 54 years (husband died in
1975)
“Don’t let your husband
drink or cheat on you.”
5 Married 50 years in February 2000
and still going strong
“If you are having a bad day,
please don’t take your anger out on your spouse.”
6 1st marriage-1 year
2nd marriage-16 years and going strong
“Communication and compromise
would be the correct answer to a happy marriage.”
7 Married 25 and a half years and
going strong
“Never lie so you won’t
have to make up excuses.”
8 1st marriage-7 years
2nd marriage-15 years and going strong
“Open communication to really
share each other’s feelings.”
9 Married 32 years and going strong
“Communications, stay out of
politics, never talk about politics.”
10 Married 29 years (husband died in
1997)
“You should have a good sense of
humor, be prepared for anything.”
Q3 According to Richard Eckersley,
what should our collective goal be?
A3 “Dematerialize society
without reducing quality of life.”
Q4 Write a worthy goal for your local
community.
A4 I think that since Roane County
has a high pregnancy rate, with teens we should make it a goal to decrease the rate. We should inform children earlier about not having
sex until they are married. Everyone should
have money to support their baby so they should wait until they have a good education and
job. Maybe if there was birth control center
pregnant teens must not be a concern in Roane County.
5Q Comment on the excerpts from
“Tomorrow’s Child.”
A5 I think it’s great that
Chris’s family is there for him, but there are a lot of kids who don’t have
parents around. I think it will help kids be
more mature and responsible.
I don’t like the idea of giving
kids a doll to remind them of their mother. I
know that this wouldn’t rescue me if I was lonely.
I
think that the poor should just try harder to get jobs instead of drawing welfare money. If they don’t find jobs America will be
increased population wise by minorities.
Q6 How does the fact the USA is a
democracy make lawyers particularly helpful, according to Kathleen Sullivan? How does our diversity, wealth and size make
lawyers particularly helpful?
A6“The nation of democracy,
going with individualism and social fluidity, is deeply ingrained in our culture (lawyers)
help, like other intermediaries-between individuals and the state-protect us from the
danger of tyranny of the majority.”
Social mobility, none of us is born
into a tribe, caste or social status, or into a guide or faction from which we can’t
escape.
Q7 Ms. Sullivan claims bad practices
are changed either by regulations or punitive damages.
Which do you prefer and why? Can you
think of an alternative?
A7 I think that there should be just
punitive damages because it is ridiculous to put a regulation on how coffee has to be
made. It just really depends on certain
situations if there should be punitive damages or regulations.
Q8 Briefly describe three ways
society would benefit from the coming of retirement of baby boomers, according to the
required reading.
A8 Grabber- The first decade of
twenty-first century, the baby boomers will retire and the healthiest, educated generation
in history will create a new baby boom.
Bing- They will start their own
business and may hire other retirees to work for them.
Bang- They will care not only for
their children, but for their parents too.
Boom- People retire earlier so many
elderly workers will be in their 90’s. Elderly
will have opportunities for teenage entrepreneurs.
Clincher- The first decade of
twenty-first century, the baby boomers will retire and the most healthiest, educated
generation in history will create a new baby boom. If
this backfires the baby boomers may prove to not be the most healthiest, education
generation in history and they won’t create a new baby boom.
Q9 Evaluate the likelihood of
President Clinton’s anti-poverty program making a real impact. Give at least three reasons to back up your
conclusions.
A9 I think it is a good proposal. The first suggestion will lower taxes for
companies. The second will encourage equity
instead of commercial loans. Then the third
suggestion will give more money to people who provide housing for the poor.
Q10 Name three things Truett Cathy
and Tom Lewis have in common.
A10 Cathy and Lewis never gave up
when they were told that their ideas wouldn’t succeed.
Cathy and Lewis both liked working with children.
They both were very successful and they strongly believed in God. They showed children, who had rough lives and
terrible lives, that there is people who cares and loves them.