Hyndman High School
Hyndman, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Janet Phillips

 

 

Community Efforts

By Bradley W. Shoemaker

Grade: 11

 

For years, many different associations, groups, and businesses have been trying to figure out how to make the communities in the U.S. a better place.  I think that the only way that the communities are going to get better, is if these organizations (that intend to help the community) make plans and regulations only for the places that need them. Such as, I do not think that every community needs more police patrols through their community. If a community has a low crime rate, it wouldn’t need a police cruiser to drive through it every five minutes.  Just like a trash-pick-up crew does not need to pick up garbage in areas that are clean, whenever their work and efforts would do a lot more for the community elsewhere. 

           

Everyone can do something to improve his/her community, whether it is just talking to a neighbor and making them feel good, or donating some time and/or money to the community or some charities. I think that in order to make a community a better place, everyone needs to get along with each other and be courteous to neighbors in the community. I think it is a good Idea to ask some elderly neighbors if they need any help once in a while, like with yard work or shoveling snow, also, talking to them and becoming friends with them. If someone is really interested in helping out with the community, but he/she are cramped for time, money, or are handicapped in any way, there are many ways to help out their community, they should find out how they can help out their community and where they would do the most good. Most of all, I think that people should be generous with their time and be thoughtful to all of the people of the community. 

           

Current divorce rates are way too high. I think that we should make it harder to get divorced.  People should think about how much divorces affect children and the whole family. I think people that have divorces and have kids do not think about how difficult it will be for their children. The children will only have one parent to guide them and teach them right or wrong. The whole family’s income will decrease, but child support could and should be arranged. Divorces have many effects on children, they will have emotional scars, and they may not do so well in school whenever all they can think about is their parents splitting up. The married couples that do not have kids it is a little easier to split up because they do not have any kids to worry about with custody and child support. If a married couple is thinking of divorce and they need help to make their relationship work, there are marriage counselors or maybe just good advice from a close friend would be able to help them save their marriage. 

           

To truly improve the quality of life in our communities, we have to think about the young people, making sure they are treated equally, educated well, given responsibility, and definitely given some freedom. I think that every kid should be shown how what he is doing now in school will help him in so many different ways. Kids should be shown how school helps them with their jobs, every day life, and whenever they choose to go or not to go to college. The kids should be shown examples of how other people have used what they learned whenever they were in school. Kids should be kept out of trouble by being introduced to sports, activities, jobs, and hobbies inside the school and given the opportunity to join

           

The elderly of every community should be given the opportunity to help the community and be helped by the community. There should be activities for the elderly to attend just like kids need activities to keep them out of trouble because a lot of people would go crazy if they sat at home after they were retired and had almost no contact with other people. Elderly citizens should have the opportunity to “hang out” and  “do stuff” with other people of the community, just like kids need to and like to “hang out” and “do stuff” with each other. 

           

The way that I think the communities in the United States would get better is the communities need to work on what the community itself needs to work on. I think that it is a bad idea for money to be wasted in communities in areas that are not needed and I feel that the elderly of communities should interact with some of the elderly that want to teach the kids and be their friend.

 

Answers To Questions Regarding Required Reading

 

 Q1 - How does society invest in marriage in the USA and in Manus?

 A1 - Society gets a feeling of partnership and society develops a trust in other people.

 

 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.

 A2 - I have interviewed over a dozen married couples, and almost all of them said in some way, that communication is what makes a good relationship work.   A few of them said  things like respect, affection, and appreciation.  Their marriages have lasted anywhere from 11 years to 48 years.

 

 Q3 - According to Richard Eckersley, what should our collective goal be?

 A3 - We need to look much more closely at what is growing, what other effects this growth

          is having, and what alternatives might exist.  We need to focus not just on wealth

          creation, but also on its distribution and conservation.

 

 Q4 - Write a worthy goal for your local community.

 A4 - Our community should work harder to preserve and cleanse our environment.

 

 Q5 - Comment on the exerpts from “Tomorrow’s Child.”

 A5 - I think that they are trying to predict what our children’s children will be like.

 

 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 - We resist high taxes to sustain centralized government.  We can live without lawyers.

 

 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 bad practices are changed by punitive damages, I think that regulations are           not the way to change bad habits because if you make a rule, someone will either try to bend the rule or break it.  I cannot think of an alternative, I think that you can never please everybody, someone, somewhere will disagree or have different ideas.

 

 Q8 - Briefly describe three ways society would benefit from the coming retirement of baby           boomers, according to the required reading.

 A8 - Many will start new businesses.   The retirement will open up job opportunities for

          younger people.  There will be another 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 don’’t think it will make much of an impact.  I think that he just used this idea to cover

          up the Monica business.  He had his mind on other things whenever he made his

          decision.  Most of all because he lied, which proves he is not trustworthy.

 

 Q10 - Name three things Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis have in common.

 A10 - Truett Cathy and Tom Lewis both are religious men, they both worked for the

            U.S.(military and police force), they both had good intentions with their lives.