Friday, February 29, 2008

Punishment By Spanking

Family has the most important role in our society. Children can be good or bad adults; that depends on parents’ teaching. If parents can treat their children very well, they will be successful in their life. On the other hand, if parents do not treat their children well, they may have many problems. Teaching has different ways to make children understand. When children did something wrong, some families only blame children. However, some families are still punishing their children by spanking. According to the article, “Our view on corporal punishment: to spank or not to spank?” the author says spanking is not a good method to punish children. It may become illegal and it makes children become tolerant.

Some people think thinks spanking is a good way to punish children, but other think it is a bad way to teach children. There are three reasons to support this idea. Parents should find other ways to punish their children. Spanking can make children become tolerant, and it is illegal in some places.

First, spanking is not a good method to punish children. If parents hit them, they may think their parents do not love them. They might ask themselves why their parents make them hurt. If their parents do not explain the reasons why they were hit, they may feel bad with their family and want to separate to live by themselves. I think punishment is good to teach them if they did something wrong, but spanking is not an appropriate way to treat children. Parents should try to find other ways to punish them, not spanking. For example, when my cousin wants to punish their children, she tries to explain to them about their mistake. Then, her children will get time out by staying alone in their bedroom for 10 minutes. I think this method is one good way to teach their children.

Second, punishment by spanking makes children become tolerant. Parents can give children life, but parents are not owners of children’s life. If the children hurt their body when they do not understand, they may think spanking is the best way to solve problems. When they go to school, they may hit their friends if their friends did something wrong because they think it is a normal way to punish other people. If they get spanking too much, they may think that it is a normal punishment because they are used to learning with this method. Moreover, when they grow up, they may become hooligans. Violence is absorbed into their thinking along with the idea that it is the best way to solve problems.

Finally, punishment by spanking that harms to children’s health is illegal. Punishment is a good method to teach children, but too much is dangerous for children. Parents should give them punishment at an optimal level, in order to help children learn what right or wrong is. Children are humans that have rights the same as adults. If parents give them a punishment that dangerous to their health, it is illegal. Parents have to go to jail. Nobody will take care of their children. It can cause many problems in the future that are caused by family problems.

In conclusion, family is the most important organization in our society. Whether children will be successful or fail depends on parents’ teaching. Parents should have a good method to teach them. Punishment is one of the good ways to teach them. However, if it becomes violent, it is harmful to children. Children might feel bad with this punishment. They may get used to this method, it makes them not learn anything from this punishment.

Our view on corporal punishment: to spank or not to spank? (2007, January 25). USA Today. Retrieved on February 28, 2008, from http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/01/post_35.html

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Lowering Drinking Age Survey

1. Introduction

Do you usually drink alcohol? When you drink, how do you go back home? Do you think about what age people should be allowed to drink alcohol at? In our society, we have many problems that are affected by alcohol. For example, when drinkers are drunk, they usually fight for stupid reasons. Alcohol is bad for their health. They may have an accident easily and they may commit crimes. In “Addressing underage drinking” the author reports, “the fact is alcohol is No.1 youth drug problem in America and more young people die in America” (n.d., para.3). Some teenagers want to change the drinking age from 21 to 18. They claim that they can be soldiers and die for their country when they are 18, so why can they not drink? They do not think that they are too young to control the limit of drinking. Then, when they are drunk, they may cause many problems.

2. Purpose

Our group, EAP1 A, decided to examine why people who are 18 want to start drinking alcohol. I wanted to find out the relationship between gender and age of people who want to change the drinking law. Moreover, I want to know people’s thinking about drinking under age. Furthermore, I want to examine people who were worried about the drinking problem at Carbondale/SIUC.

3. Hypotheses

I had three hypotheses about this problem. First, people who are under 18 would want to change the drinking age from 21 to 18 because they want to be cool people in their opinion. Second, men would say they started drinking earlier than women. Finally, only young people would want to change this law.

4. Methods and Procedures

Our group was supposed to ask sixty-six people who are of different ages and genders in Carbondale in order to learn about different ideas. But in fact we got 49 surveys and all were from SIU students. We prepared a survey that had 9 questions. These questions were mostly yes or no questions, and one question that asked them to write a short answer. It was very easy survey to understand and took a short time to answer.

5. Data and Chart

Connect here http://eap1.blogspot.com/2008/02/practice-survey-results_27.html

6. Results

From the research, people who are under 20 drink alcohol slightly more than people who are not. Thirty-two out of thirty-six of people who are under 21 (88.9%) drink alcohol. The same percentage of males and females do binge drinking. However, drinkers who do not binge (79.6%) are more than people who binge (20.4%). Females started drinking a little bit earlier than males. 84.7% of people think that too much drinking is not a problem in Carbondale. Forty-one out of forty-nine (83.6%) believe that a little alcohol is good but too much is bad. Over half of people (69.3%) think that drinking age should not be lowered, but 30.6% of people think that it should be lowered.

7. Conclusion and Discussion

I believed that people who are under 18 would want to change the drinking age from 21to 18 because they want to be cool people in their opinion. However, the research showed that nobody thought drinking alcohol made him or her a cool person. I was surprised because I thought they wanted to be cool people, but the result showed that their feeling about alcohol is that a little alcohol is good but too much is bad. I was also surprised that females started drinking earlier than males. This is a shocking number for me, because I believed strongly that males started drinking earlier than females. However, I forgot to think about physical girls. Girls grow up earlier than boys; that may make girls try to drink alcohol earlier than boys. The last hypothesis was that only young people would want to change drinking law. The research showed that not only young people wanted to change the drinking law, but also people who are over 21. However, the number of people who did not want to change the law was higher than people who wanted to change. I think people are still worried about problems that may happen when young people drink alcohol.

If I were to do this survey again, I would want to ask not only SIU students but also workers, because most SIU students are 18-25 years old. I want to know the different opinions in different ages. Maybe if I ask older people, I may get some good opinions from them. One of my questions in this survey is about opinion. Respondents have to write a short answer. It was difficult for me to conclude the answer. I want to change to yes/no question. I think it would be easier to count the answers.

8. Reference

Addressing underage drinking. (n.d.). why21.org. Retrieved on February 5, 2008, from http://www.why21.org/under21/

9. Appendix

Copy of survey http://eap1.blogspot.com/2008/02/practice-survey-results.html

Friday, February 8, 2008

Lowering Drinking Age Is Not A Solution

According to data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the number of drunk drivers who are 16 to 20 years old and died in car and motorcycle accidents in 2006 increased 3.9 percent from 2005 (Insurance Information Institute, 2008). This is a high increase in drunken driving. Some 18 to 20 year olds claim their right to drink alcohol. Should they have this right? Everyone knows the answer from the number is shown above. It is very obvious that people who are under 21 should not have the right to drink alcohol.

There are many reasons to support this idea. Reduction the age of drinking is a bad thing for teenagers. It will increase the number of drinkers in our community. In addition, it can cause a chaotic society.

The primary reason that the lawmakers should not change drinking age from 21 to 18 is it may encourage teenagers who never drank to start drinking. If the law changes, it will increase the amount of drinkers. All of them are students. They should take time for their studying, not drinking. It may harm their education and future. It also affects the country, which needs potential workers for its development. Moreover, they are students. Some people work, some do not. Some of them get allowance from their parents. Most bars have entrance fees. When they go to a bar, they have to pay both entrance fee and for beverage. It wastes money for them. In addition, it also can cause family problems. They may hang out with friends too much and not pay attention to their family. Talking with members in the family is the best method to share each other’s feeling.

Moreover, an important reason lawmakers should not change the drinking age from 21 to 18 is it may make more hooligans. They do not know themselves when they are drunk. If some places are full of them, they usually fight such as shooting and stabbing for totally stupid reasons. It is very dangerous for their life. They may commit crimes because they are drunk. For example, they may steal other people’s cars, they may destroy public assets and they can have sexual abuse. According to article in “why21,” “The fact is alcohol is the No.1 youth drug problem in America and more young people die from alcohol” (Addressing underage drinking, n.d., para.3). Because they are drunk, it is very dangerous when they drive a car. They can have an accident. It can cause them to be injured, crippled or dead. The big problem is not only they die, they also take other people’s lives with them.

A lot of people who are under 21 want to change the drinking age from 21 to 18. They wonder if they are old enough to drive, vote, go to war, and die for their country, they should be old enough to drink, right? From the article in “Progressiveu.org,” the writer answered, “Because you might die without going off to war, better to die for your country than to die drunk” (Changing the drinking age back to 18, 2006, para.1). These people are wrong, because 18–year-olds can be drivers, but they can not control their limit of drinking. When they are drunk, they have to drive back home. It is very harmful for their life. Moreover, 18-year-olds can be soldiers to protect their country, but it is their duty. It is for their country, not for an individual reason like drinking. Everybody should do it. Soldiers fight invaders to protect the country in the war. It should be good if they hold the gun in the battlefield, not in the bar. This law does not mean they do not have the right to drink, but they will get this right in the next three years. Why do they really want to drink when they are not mature? The answer is they want to be cool people. They can be a cool person without drinking. They can pay attention to other things such as studying, sport, recreation, art, etc. These activities are better for your health and future than drinking.

It is very clear that the lawmakers should not change the drinking age from 21 to 18. It would urge teenagers to start drinking earlier than they should be. It will increase the drunkenness in our society. Moreover, when they are drunk, they are not scared of anything. They can do something illegal. The most harmful thing is an accident. They may die and kill innocent people. Therefore, the government should keep this law. 21 years old is still an appropriate age for drinking in the U.S. 18 years old is suitable for voting and going to war that is a good responsibility for the country, but not drinking. Three years for waiting to drink is not too long a duration. They should use their time for good activities in order to have a good future, not drinking.

Addressing underage drinking. (n.d.). why21.org. Retrieved on February 5, 2008, from http://www.why21.org/under21/

Changing the Drinking Age Back to 18. (2006, October, 14). Progressiveu.org. From Overused Prototype. Retrieved on February 5, 2008, from http://www.progressiveu.org/151450-changing-the-drinking-age-back-to-18

Insurance Information Institute . (2008, February). Drunk Driving. Retrieved on February 5, 2008, from http://www.iii.org/media/hottopics/insurance/drunk/

Mulcahey, S. (2002, January 30). Lowering drinking age is not a solution. Retrieved on February 1, 2008, from http://media.www.westerncourier.com/media/storage/paper650/news/2002/01/30/Opinion/Lowering.Drinking.Age.Is.Not.A.Solution-443723.shtml

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Causes Of Stress

Every person has different stress. The causes of stress come from their problems such as health, family, work and economy. It is especially true in modern life, in which all people want much more money. How dangerous stress is depends on your mind. If you think you can control it, you will not get stress. In contrast, if you can not deal with if or you don’t know the cause of stress, it may be harmful to you.

There are three big causes of stress that may be harmful: greed, confusion and laziness. People never stop wanting. They try to find new things to make them happier. They get confused in their life. They never let something be. And they are too lazy to exercise for relaxing.

The most important cause of stress is greed. People always need conveniences to help them be more comfortable in modern life. They want a big house, a modern car, or a luxurious accessory. All of these conveniences are very expensive. They have to work hard to get much money to afford these things. It gives them more stress. If somebody wants something but they do not have enough money, they have stress. They may not be able to control themselves. It makes them become insane people.

The second is confusion. They want to hold everything in their hand. They don’t let something go. For example, if your assistant becomes your boss, you will have stress, because you always think he or she is a lower level than you. If you can adapt yourself with every situation, you will not have stress. An example comes from my religion, Buddhism. Buddhism taught me how to cope with stress in my mind. Everything is not stable; it will disappear. Then, I should not hold everything. If something is gone, I have to understand and adjust myself with what remains.

Laziness also can be the cause of stress. For example, if you are too lazy to work, you might get little money. It is not enough to support your family. You will have stress from your laziness. From my experience, I usually read the book only at night before taking the test, because I am lazy. I have stress every time when I am going to take the test. It has many affects on my body. Before taking the test, I can not eat anything, I have a headache and I want to vomit. That is the worst thing, that stresses are linked to the body.

In conclusion, there are three different causes of stress. The first cause is avarice. People still want more than they still have. Some people become crazy people because of their stress. Another cause is confusion. They get confused in their life. They try to keep everything with them all the time. The other cause is laziness. You do something too late because of laziness; it gives you stress. Stress also affects your body. You may feel uncomfortable inside your body if you can not control it. This article just tells a few examples of the causes of stress. It can help you to understand them and learn how to manage yourself in the modern life as we have today.