Hyndman High School
Hyndman, Pennsylvania
Teacher: Janet Phillips

 

Improving America’s Communities

By Zach Ritchey

Grade 11

 

 

Realizing our role in the community, Americans take the first step in improving the nation’s communities. Communities give us so much and too many times we give nothing in return. If every American citizen contributes to his or her community, improvement is almost certain. 

           

Getting involved with community activities is one major role every citizen must realize. This means going to town meetings, school events, and town social events. Anything that can make a citizen more aware of what is going on in the community is something that will benefit not only the person but the people around him. Too many times people tend to just sit back and allow many of their community rights to be decided by others instead of getting involved and helping decide what is best for his or her community. If everyone in the community gets involved with more activities, the community will become stronger and the people will become closer to their fellow citizens.

           

Keeping our communities safe and comfortable places will help bring more people into our communities. One way to accomplish this is to establish a neighborhood watch program, helping to keep crime away from our neighborhoods. Different groups can split up territory and days of the week and patrol their areas for any sign of trouble. Another way to assure safety and comfort is to make sure our community is clean. Groups could be established to pick up trash and to keep properties looking presentable. If a community is kept in good condition and is a safe place to live, more people will be attracted to the area.

           

Maintaining equal opportunities is important for everyone in a community. Every person needs to have an opportunity to work and to allow this, there must be an adequate amount of jobs in the area. Also it can be vital to have equal numbers of jobs for males as well as females. This will keep peace with the genders. Also Racial equality must be stressed for a community to prosper; business owners cannot be biased in anyway. Another excellent way to make improvements in the community is to establish organizations helping the citizens. Groups can be started to help comfort battered women, to give help to the less fortunate, and to rehabilitate alcoholics and drug addicts.  In every community people struggle and if there are special organizations there for these people they can get their lives back on track.  It is important to be there for others in your community. 

           

Strong community morals need to be adjusted in today’s efforts to improve a community. Religion should be a very important part of a community. Having faith instills strong morals into a person and into a community. This will possibly help kids make the right decisions when they are pressured into doing something that they know is wrong. Also a person with strong religious morals is more inclined to succeed in life. Strong morals could also reduce divorce between couples.  Having good morals can only help a community. 

           

Attracting people to the area is a must for the community. This can be achieved using many different approaches. The best way to attract quality families to an area is to provide great educational facilities. Not only will this bring people to your town it will also give your town pride.  The town will have pride in knowing that their town’s school is the best.  Another good way to attract people is to erect shopping centers. People will come from all the surrounding areas to browse the community’s shopping facilities. This is also a good source of employment in the community. One more positive way to keep people coming in and out of the community is to have an annual fair or an annual circus. This is also a great way to build up the character of the community.

           

Community care is probably one of the essentials for a good community and is something that can easily be improved. First of all, communities need the basic means of care: hospitals, police departments, fire departments, and a rescue squad. Others may be dentist offices, health centers, or specialists. Making sure the people have adequate medical facilities is definitely vital in the improvement of our communities. 

           

These are just some ways to improve our communities today. Not every community is in need of a complete make over, but If everyone does his job in his community, it will make the world a friendlier and happier place.

                                                                                                           

Answers To Questions Regarding Required Reading

 

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

 

A1.

           

Q2.     Interview 10 married people. (No names) State the length and number each

            one’s marriages and a line or two of advice from each on how to maintain a long

            and happy relationship?

           

A2.     1.  A male who has been married for 28 years thinks the main ingredient of a                   marriage is love.  “Without it,” he said, ”nothing can grow.”

            2. A male married for 4 years believes that the key to a marriage is trusting each                        other no matter what the situation.  The thinks besides the obvious, love, that is the                  main reason his marriage is going so smoothly.

            3. A female married for 11 years agrees that love is the most important part of a                        marriage.  “Love involves so many things” she said,“trust, honesty,                                           compatibility…etc are all parts of love.”

            4. A male married for 55 years thinks getting along with your spouse is most                              imperative for a long marriage.

            5. A female married for 19 years agrees that trust is a big part of a successful                             marriage.  She thought trust has kept her and her husband together for almost two                        decades.

            6. A female married 2 years thinks humor is an important part of a marriage.  “If you                  can’t joke with your hubby then what’s the fun of being together,” she said.

            7. A male married for 11 years believes that honesty is the biggest thing in his                 marriage. 

            8. A male married to his 2nd wife for 5 years thinks love is what has finally landed him   with the perfect spouse.

            9. A female married for 42 years laughed and only said, “ Love is all you need.”

            10. A male married for 3 years thinks love is the main ingredient also.

           

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

           

A3.     He believes we should stop concentrating on making everything in live easier but Grow closer as people.  That is where the true progress lies.

           

Q4.     Write a worthy goal for your community.

           

A4.     Erect a youth center to keep the kids off the corner and allow them to do                        something worth while.  That would make so much of a difference in my community.

           

Q5.     Comment on the excerpts for “Tomorrow’s Child.”

           

A1.     Sad but true, today’s parents are not as focused on raising a model citizen as                  much as parents of past generations.

           

Q6.     How does the fact that 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.     She believes they help individuals and the state protect us from the danger of tyranny of the majority of.  We fear the government can use lawyers to do so many things that would be handled by other societies’government.

           

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 believe it’s going to be changed by regulations.  I don’t think anything will                     change unless a regulation makes it clear that there is need for a change.

           

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

           

A8.    

           

Q9.     Evaluate the likelihood of President Clinton’s anti-poverty program making a                 real impact.  Give at least three reason to back up your conclusions.

           

A9.     I think it is very likely to have a real impact.  My backing reasons are simply                    the three main proposals given in the required reading: 25% tax credit enabling                         companies investing in poor areas over five years to finance $100-worth of                                business for $75, a variety of institutions, such as America’s Private investment                 Companies (APIC), to provide public debt guarantees for private companies which   invest equity in poor areas, and more help for the so-called Community                          Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). 

           

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

           

A10.    Truett and Tom both feel the need to help less fortunate children, both are humble and don’t care about getting credit for what they did, and they are both religious people.  Truett’s Chick-fil-A food chain never opens on Sunday and Lewis’s after school program makes time each day for Bible study.