Greetings, beautiful people!
Well, who would have thought we'd spend quarter 4 in quarantine, and (probably) finish the year online? One thing is certain, these are interesting and unprecedented times. Please take a look at the letter/poem expressing my thoughts on the situation, here. Fortunately, we have the syllabus, already, and an online platform at apaceodyssey.com, so transitioning to online learning won’t be that much of a struggle. We will, however, miss out on, arguably, the most crucial part of the class – our discussions and interactions – and that makes me sad. On the plus side, though. You are free to work ahead, and if you finish up early, you will be done. (We will still continue the blog until the end, however.) In the off-chance that we do return to school, we will pick up where we are on the schedule. I am putting all our assignments on the website, and I’ve created a Google Classroom and Remind for the class, as well. Here is a link to the Remind account for the class, and the Google Classroom code is erhwi7i. Please join those, if you haven’t already. I am available for help, questions, moral support, etc., so don’t hesitate to ask. Your second book project is on the schedule for next week – let’s push that back to the end of April. Your third (and final) book project will be due by the end of May (when I would like everything in). We will not present them, of course, so I will simply grade the website as the presentation portion. If you were absent for the midterm, I probably can’t administer the vocabulary section fairly as a take home exam, so I have uploaded it with that section omitted. If you were present, I will only count the vocabulary if it increases the score. I am working on procuring digital texts for our two remaining course books. I will keep you posted on those. You will compose an essay for each of the texts from a selection of prompts that I will provide shortly. Your final identity project will serve as your final exam, as well. If you do the video option, you can just send it to me, of course. If you make the poster, simply take a picture (or several smaller pictures). I would still like you to present/explain this project. Once it is complete, record a video of the presentation and post it as a Pacebook post for your classmates and me to see. I have created a revised version of the syllabus for the remaining weeks, so follow along with that, and please contact me to help in any way I can. My goal is to finish this course as effectively as possible while being accommodating, so as not to add tremendously to the stress and uncertainty you all are experiencing at the moment, but not shortchange your education, either. All the best, Mr. Pace
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July 30, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a bill that enacted Medicaid. Medicaid originally gave medical insurance to people who were getting cash assistance. Over the years Medicaid has become the nation’s public health insurance program for people with low income. It has a wide variety of being able to get into the program, even though each state has different requirements. In other words, Medicaid has been evolving over the years to meet the changing needs of the people. For example, it covers “low-income families, pregnant women, people with disabilities, and people who need long-term care”. There are a lot of benefits when a person becomes a recipient of Medicaid. Medicaid help pays for hospitals, community health centers, physicians, nursing homes, and jobs in the health care sector. According to KKF.org, it actually covers “1 in 5 Americans” and based on that there are several people needing Medicaid.
The downfall to being on Medicaid is that those who rely on it for a long time slowly lose their assets and their financial independence. This often leads to having a limited choice of choosing their care and facilities. There are also those who take advantage of being on Medicaid for a long time. Based on that would there be any way to encourage recipients who can still work to find a living? Who do you think should be able to receive the Medicaid benefits? Should it become more restrictive for those who are wanting Medicaid? What should we do with those who are taking advantage of Medicaid? What are your thoughts on Medicaid? https://www.kff.org/medicaid/issue-brief/10-things-to-know-about-medicaid-setting-the-facts-straight/ https://www.cms.gov/About-CMS/Agency-information/History/ Beauty is defined as “a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or for, that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially the sight” or “a beautiful woman”.
Beauty has always been a word geared towards women and society. But, it truly can be appreciated in any form at all. It is important that we recognize the beauty in our own life such as within different cultures, behaviors, societies, Etc. Society constantly suggests as humans we have to be beautiful to be accepted as who we are. For example, some people may think of beauty as physical features. Some people will go to extreme extents to feel beautiful and get cosmetic surgery to enhance their physical features. We see the people we define as beautiful and tend to gravitate towards who they are, wishing we could be more like them. But some romanticize the beauty of life and nature. They may think of beauty as a gorgeous sunset at the end of the day, or seeing the beautiful blue oceans. Or even just little things, like seeing someone you really connect with after a long time or making someone else smile. Not everyone thinks of beauty in the same ways, but most everyone can agree that they have had some sort of beautiful moment or experience within their lifetime. In a society full of harsh judgmental people, the ideal of inner-beauty is being tarnished by the idea that it is centered around physical features entirely. My questions for you are: What is beauty? What is inner-beauty What are your thoughts on cosmetic surgeries (plastic surgery)? Do you think society emphasizes the idea of beauty? What do you find beauty in? For much of earth’s history, humans have been divided into two genders: male and female. Now however, more and more people are coming out about the discomfort they feel in the gender they were born with. The technology of today has allowed people not only to dress and act like the opposite gender, but to also become that gender with sex reassignment surgery and hormone therapy. Some families that believe in chosen gender as opposed to assigned have let their children grow up without common stereotypes. Others realize much later that something is wrong with who they are. While some people have a great support system throughout this, others face endless discrimination. The tug of war created by these polarized opinions has been making its way into our every day lives.
Some major establishments such as Target have allowed people to enter the bathroom of the gender they are identifying as at the moment as opposed to the gender they were born with. Because of this, people started boycotting the store. Even though they might not ever know that they were in a bathroom with a person that is transgender, the thought that they could be is frightening to them. The stigma around people that are transgender, especially boy to girl, is very negative and mostly misunderstood. Others argue that the danger is far higher for the people that are transgender. Many of them face criticism and abuse from those around them because of their choices. They are discriminated in their workplaces, places of religion, and in public spaces. Sometimes the transition is not fully complete and it is very obvious that someone is working toward a gender switch. At this point, do we ignore what we can obviously see and live by what they want us to perceive? What specific rights should be given for those in that position? If we keep that mindset, will the gender lines be blurred completely? Should people have the right to identify as what they want when it differs from the social norm? What do you think about Target's bathroom policy? Do you know anyone that identifies with a different gender than what they were born with? https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/11/transgender-politics-sympathy-cannot-trump-reality/ |
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